Fire's Awakening
by feathergriffin
Summary: Kagome's been keeping a few things secrets, Sesshoumaru and Kikyou have their own agendas as usual, a few new characters are popping in, courtesty of YYH, and now everything has changed. RewritePrequel to Going Up in Flames.
1. Chapter 1

All right, I'm back, I'm ahead, and I'm ready to start the Fire Trilogy! I won't guarantee a posting schedule, 'cause it will partly depend on reviews, but there should be at least one or two a month!

Yes, I'm trying it again, but it is a bit different this time. Just because you've read _Going up in Flames_ doesn't mean you'll know everything, and if you've read _Fire_ or _Before the Fire_, my aborted attempts, you still don't know everything! If you have no clue what I am talking about, then ignore the last two sentences because I've deleted all previous attempts! So, I hope everyone enjoys the first chapter, and I'm looking forward to hearing from you soon!

Summary: Kagome is sick of hiding her past from the others. (No, it isn't that she's a demon. Honest.) She's ready to take a stand once more, and everything will change. YYHxIY. Not many major characters in this book.

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. Now, let's not all fall over from shock at once, okay?

Written by feathergriffin, of course!

**Fire's Awakening**

_Chapter One_

Miroku watched as Kagome stared into the fire. He was a pretty observant man and spent a lot of his time observing human nature. As Miroku spent more time traveling with his new companions, he found himself with some very unique specimens. Each had their quirks, but they were good people, and Miroku was growing more attached to them then he had ever planned. Lately, however, he had noticed Kagome was becoming more quiet and reserved. The degree of change was slight enough that the others paid no attention to it, but Miroku had. At first it was just little things like Kagome not sitting Inuyasha as much, playing with Shippou as much, or chatting with Sango as much. The thing that had first tipped him off, though, was that when his cursed hand caressed her the slap wasn't half as hard as usual. Knowing Kagome, he knew something was wrong when she couldn't work up enough righteous indignation to give him a decent slap, of which he was rather a good judge.

So Miroku spent the following week watching Kagome. She tried to act normal enough, but Miroku caught the little nuances that continued to enforce his opinion that something was wrong. When her behavior didn't stop and started to get worse as Kagome spent more and more of her time staring off into the distance and just not interacting as much with everyone, he decided it was time to talk to Kagome.

That night when they stopped and started to prepare camp, Kagome volunteered to collect some wood. Miroku took advantage of the opportunity and said that he would go with her to make sure she didn't get into any trouble. Sango gave him a strict warning to respect Kagome, and Inuyasha, scoffing, said something like it _would_ take two humans to gather firewood.

Kagome didn't comment as they walked off into the woods. After a few moments while Miroku and Kagome wandered, picking up loose pieces of wood while they walked, Miroku stopped and sat down on a nearby fallen log.

"Kagome, would you sit down for a moment?" Miroku asked. Kagome's eyes flickered to his in curiosity, but she complied.

"Would you mind if I ask you something personal?" Miroku asked. Kagome's face turned thoughtful and a bit guarded.

"I guess not," Kagome said.

"Something has been bothering you for awhile now. Is something happening back in your time that bothers you? Did Inuyasha do something?" Miroku asked.

Kagome glanced at him, uncomfortable, and then looked back into the darkening forest.

"I suppose this is why you volunteered," Kagome said. Miroku smiled.

"Inuyasha hasn't done anything out of the ordinary, and it isn't really anything that is happening in my time," Kagome said after a moment of silence.

"Then it is something else?" Miroku asked.

"You don't need to worry about it," Kagome said.

"I know I don't have to, but you are and I don't want you to be worrying about it. It worries me because you worry about it," Miroku said.

Kagome looked at him and gave him a small smile then looked down at her hands in her lap.

"It'll sound stupid compared to everyone else's problems," Kagome said, trying to avoid talking about her worries and, more importantly, her past.

"It isn't stupid to you. I would like to help," Miroku said.

Kagome sighed. "About three years ago my father was murdered. It is getting close to the anniversary of his death, and thinking about everything, especially after what has happened over the course of this year, is bothering me." This came out a bit rushed, as if she wanted to get it out fast enough so that Miroku wouldn't catch all of her words. It didn't work.

"I'm sorry about his death. Why would I think it stupid, though?" Miroku asked.

"Think about everyone else here. Inuyasha's parents were dead at an early age, he grew up on his own, and when he finally starts to become close to someone they are tricked into betraying each other. Shippou's parents are dead. You have parents dead as well as a horrible curse that can end your life at any moment. Sango's entire village was murdered including her entire remaining family, and her younger adored brother is being controlled by the one responsible. Then there is me; I still have my grandfather, mother, and younger brother." Kagome was saying this in a detached voice unlike her own.

"That just means we will appreciate your pain more," Miroku said gently.

"You aren't going to tell the others," Kagome turned around and gave him a hard glare. Miroku thought he could make out a certain brightness in her eyes.

"They would only want to help you feel better in their own ways," Miroku protested.

"They don't need to be distracted," Kagome said fiercely, "and you don't need to worry about it either. I'll manage!"

Miroku gave her a look filled with compassion. "Kagome, you do me and the others a disservice. I will keep your secret for now, but I want you to tell me everything, all right?"

Kagome looked at Miroku. His features were hard to make out, but she could tell that he wasn't going to relent.

"All right," Kagome sighed. "I guess I'll start at the beginning. I'm adopted."

"What? Did your first family die because of something?" Miroku asked in surprise.

Kagome gave a slightly bitter laugh. "No. I am not sure which would be worse; the truth or them being dead. The truth is that they gave me up for adoption right after I was born. In my time, if a couple doesn't want to keep their child, they give the child to the government who find homes for them to live in. Sometimes they never find a home for the child and it grows up in a sadly lacking environment. I was lucky; I was adopted as soon as my mother got me out of her womb."

Miroku couldn't think of anything to say.

"I always wonder why they didn't want me. I know that maybe my mother was poor, or maybe there was some reason that they couldn't keep me, but I don't accept that. I believe if you have a child then it is your responsibility to keep him or her and raise her to full term. There are other, less pleasant reasons. Maybe my conception was a problem. Maybe my mother couldn't be bothered with keeping her child. There are many possibilities, and I have gone over each and every possibility too many times." Kagome sighed a bit then continued.

"Luckily, I was given to a great family. My parents couldn't have children, you see, and so they adopted me, and then later Souta. My father and grandfather, however, argued about our futures. Grandfather needed someone to train as a shrine keeper to replace him once he died, and father wanted a child to raise following the traditions of his family. They continued to argue, and finally drew lots as to whether the first child my parents adopted would be my father's or my grandfather's pupil. Mother thought they were both ridiculous and said they should let us choose, but they were stubborn and it turned out for the best. I became my father's responsibility, and when Souta was adopted he fell into grandfather's domain." Kagome shook her head. "At first, it seemed perfect."

"What was the tradition of your father's family?" Miroku asked.

"To become a warrior," Kagome said, looking away from Miroku in shame.

"You can wield weapons?" Miroku asked in astonishment.

"Well, yes. I never used the bow and arrow until I came here, but before my father's death I was trained primarily in the naginata, with other weapons as back ups. I wasn't too bad at those either," Kagome said, her voice a bit wistful.

"What happened?" Miroku was still trying to absorb this fact.

"I loved my father. I spent little of my time outside of school studying but instead devoted myself to learning everything I could. I practiced for hours at a time everyday. My father was very proud, and had weapons specially made of a size that I could wield them even when I was younger. He bought progressively bigger weapons as I aged; making sure that each one was significantly heavier than the last so that I would build up my strength. My whole life revolved around my father and his teachings. Just before my thirteenth birthday, my father went out to visit one of his friends. He was late coming back, and mother and I stayed up to wait for him. By the next morning we were both worried, and when a knock came to the door we flew to answer it. A policeman, you can think of him as an enforcer of law, was at the door. My father had been murdered in an alleyway. They had just found his body lying there, with all of his daggers in place and no sign of a struggle. The cause of death was determined to be a hard hit to the head." Kagome's head bowed in remembered sorrow.

"They never found out who had killed him. Nothing had been stolen from him. There was no sign of a weapon. Absolutely no clues as to what had happened to him. There should have been something, some sign of a fight! My father was supposed to be a warrior! He should have been able to make it safely home to us! The person who killed him should be in jail, and father should still be alive. Father always told me a true warrior should always fight for what he or she loved, but he didn't fight at all!" Tears started to fall down Kagome's cheeks. "He didn't fight to come home to us, who loved him with all of our hearts and who would have given our life for his." Kagome furiously scrubbed at her face with her sleeves, trying to get rid of her tears. Miroku watched her, a bit shocked with everything that she had told him.

"At his funeral, I decided that I would not practice anything he taught me of his family's ways; I would not honor someone who didn't honor and love us. It has been a hard vow to keep. I was able to forget my pain in studying at school and finally becoming a good scholar. Then I fell down the well. At first, everything seemed like a hallucination. I had decided that I had hit my head in the well and this was just a dream. As I started to realize it was real and I was in a dangerous place, I was put to a sore test. I longed to grab a weapon and defend myself, but I couldn't. It reminded me of him too much, and I couldn't break my vow. Things happened over the course of the next two days, and when I finally made it back home I was happy to be safe and I wouldn't have to worry about breaking my vow anymore. Inuyasha came back for me, though, and since then my mind has constantly worried about it. At first I decided that since Inuyasha considered me something like an annoyance I didn't need to help him. That didn't last long, though. Then, I started to wish to tell someone, to help out, but I managed to hold to my vow. Each time a battle happens, and all I can do is to try and hit the bad guy with arrows, my guilt has increased. By the time I was ready and willing to take a weapon in everyone's defense and break my vow, it was too late. I was afraid of everyone's reaction and that everyone would cast me out, or worse, keep me with them and treat me like I wasn't their friend. It's been killing me and I am so sorry!" Kagome started to sob in earnest now and stood up to run away to somewhere private.

Miroku stopped that before it happened. He grabbed her and hugged her, letting her sob into his robes. He stroked her hair, eyes far away. Eventually he started to speak.

"You were willing to break your vow and take dishonor upon yourself?" Miroku asked. His only answer was a weak nod that could only be felt.

"I think that you are only human, Kagome, and the course of action you took follows that. It might have been rough at first, but I would like to believe that we would all forgive you. Now, l am going to tell you what I think. First, I believe your vow is invalid." This was stated quietly but firmly. This shocked Kagome completely and she sat up quickly.

"What?" she asked, her voice disbelieving.

"Before your father died, you would have sworn on your life that he loved you and his family, correct?" Miroku asked.

"Yes, but"—Miroku interrupted.

"Kagome, I know you might not want to hear it, but even your father was human. The most skilled warrior can be caught off guard. It could have even been a demon assailant, for I find it hard to believe that all demons are gone from your time. I don't believe someone who called himself your father would devote so much time to you and not love you. I am sure if it was possible, he would have done everything in his power to come back to you." This was said with such firm conviction Kagome found herself almost believing him.

"But," she said in a half-hearted manner.

"If you vowed you would not honor someone who didn't honor and love his family, and if in fact he did, then your vow is invalid." Miroku said this with a hint of compassion in his voice. Kagome stared down at her hands.

"You mean all this time I have been wrong, and I have been allowing you to suffer because of my cowardice?" Kagome asked in a faint voice.

"No, of course not. You were hurt, and believed wrongly. It was a regrettable mistake. Now, correct me if I am wrong, but other than your bow and arrows you have not fought against someone with your life on the line before, or against demons, have you?" Miroku asked.

"No," Kagome said slowly, drawing out the short syllable.

"I know you don't think there is much difference, but consider the difference between aiming at a stationary target and fighting against a normal demon," Miroku said. He prayed she would understand his point.

"Yes, but I still could have," Kagome started, but she was once more interrupted.

"No. There is a difference. Demons are faster and often have centuries of life behind them that taught them things you don't know. All of your fights before coming through the well have been to learn how to fight for the sake of fighting, not to save your life. I think once you are ready, Sango and I can help you with that. But you will only fight once Sango believes that you are ready. Inuyasha might help, but I think he would be too afraid of hurting you and most likely will be sulking." This earned a weak laugh from Kagome. "I want you to think about this, and we can talk about it tomorrow, okay? I am willing to help you, but you need to decide what to do first. Tomorrow would you do me the honor of gathering wood with me?" Miroku asked in a formal and overdone tone.

Kagome giggled a little, her heart feeling so many conflicting emotions she was quite torn. "It's a date," she said before turning serious again. "Miroku, I don't know how to thank you. I was having such a hard time dealing with this and," she gulped, "I don't think you will ever completely understand what this means to me. I haven't been thinking clearly since my father died and you have helped me deal with that. There is still a great deal I need to absorb, but I wouldn't be on the right track if it wasn't for you. I want you to know that I consider you family, and I will do anything you need me to do."

Miroku felt stunned. His entire family was dead, and he didn't have any siblings. To have a family again would be beyond imagination. "You mean that?" he asked disbelievingly.

Kagome nodded, "As I have said, none of the people who I call family are related to me by blood. I would love another brother, and maybe someday I could even get a sister out of the deal too."

"I've always wanted a sister," Miroku said, half-wistfully. He was already so tightly entangled in this group, even if he had tried before to avoid companions, that it would only be solidifying the bond that was already there. Kagome smiled and hugged him tightly.

"You have one," Kagome swore. Then she smiled crookedly, "You are stuck with me now."

"I think I can handle that," Miroku said. "Shall we go back? I think we hear our illustrious leader calling our names in dulcet tones."

Kagome chuckled. "Ever a melodious voice," she said, and wiped her tears. "We better pick what we have gathered and go quickly."

"I am glad to have such a wise woman as family," Miroku said.

"Not half as glad as I am to have you in my family. Truly," and Kagome smiled, picked up her bunch of sticks, and stood up. She was still reeling from the conversation she had just had, and many things had to be sorted out inside and outside of her, but for the first time in many months she felt confident that she could handle it.

"Lead on," Kagome said and while it wasn't in her normal cheerful tones it was a definite improvement from a few minutes earlier. She started to walk off, and Miroku followed her smiling bemusedly at her back. He had family again, friends, and a woman he believed he was falling in love with. Sometime when he was traveling with the group, he wasn't sure when, he had started to feel hope that he could get rid off his curse and live a life of happiness. After years of despair, it was a truly wonderful feeling. There were many things to sort out and help his new sister with, a demon to destroy, and hopefully someday a demon slayer to woo, and after a good night's sleep he would be ready to take it all on.

OoO OoO OoO OoO OoO OoO OoO OoO OoO OoO OoO OoO OoO OoO OoO OoO OoO OoO OoO

After a brief spate of yelling that Miroku defused with ease, the entire group spent the rest of the evening in a very quiet mood. Kagome and Miroku were both thinking of what had happened, Inuyasha was sulking in a tree, Sango was looking between Miroku and Kagome and wondering, and Shippou and Kirara were playing quietly. The next day was spent the same way. Kagome and Miroku didn't say much, but they would sometimes just look at each other. Inuyasha was more silent than usual, and Sango was pensive as she occasionally petted Kirara's head. No demon interrupted so that the group could relieve their tension and it was a very quiet camp that night. Kagome headed for wood without asking and Miroku followed her after a minute. They didn't notice the fierce glances sent after them by Sango or Inuyasha, or Shippou's curious one. Kirara actually followed them, but then she was a cat and that was her given right, whether of demonic origin or not.

Kagome and Miroku gathered wood in silence, both knowing that if their talk took as long as it did yesterday they would need to have the wood gathered beforehand. This task was accomplished quickly, and Miroku sat down, leaning against an ancient tree. Kagome curled up by him, her head on his shoulder. Miroku gave a brief smile and put his arm around her.

"What were your thoughts today, Kagome?" he asked finally.

"Other than wishing that the tension wasn't so thick that Inuyasha couldn't slice through it with his Wind Scar? I am starting feel really guilty about what I did after my father died. I said a few inappropriate things to a friend of my father's who was just trying to help, not to mention how I disrespected my father," Kagome heaved a large sigh, and then jumped as a small, furry head instituted itself under her hand. She looked down and gave a shaky laugh.

"Don't scare me like that, Kirara," Kagome requested, but Kirara just rubbed at her hand harder. Kagome shook her head slightly and started to pet Kirara in an almost unconscious manner.

"Kagome, the death of a loved one causes us to do and think things we wouldn't normally think. I wasn't quite normal myself after my father died," Miroku said, his eyes growing a slightly far away look.

"What was your father like?" Kagome asked.

Miroku gave a small smile. "He was a very kind and loving man. From the stories I have heard, he used to be quite a womanizer."

"And you aren't?" Kagome asked.

"Kagome, I am not doing anything to you right now, am I?" Miroku asked, a slightly hurt tone in his voice, though a small glint could be seen in his eyes. Kagome sat straight up with a huff, making Kirara, who had settled in her lap, gave a slight sound of protest.

"I'm your sister now, it isn't allowed!" Kagome said. Miroku's face turned grave. He had forgotten about that. Kagome groaned.

"Miroku!" she protested.

"You can't make an exception?" Miroku asked.

"Not unless you want to be my stand-in for target practice, Miroku. It was barely tolerable before, and now it would be going too far. Brothers just don't do that to sisters! Great, now I have an image in my head of my little brother trying to…sheesh, Miroku! I might have to use you for target practice anyways!" Kagome said, trying to get that particular image out of her head.

"If I must," Miroku said, but Kagome caught the hint of mischief in his voice and hit him over the top of his head.

"You deliberately set me up, you twerp!" Kagome said. Miroku just gave a small smile.

"Now, tell me more about your family," Kagome demanded. Miroku did. He told of his only memories of his mother, a black-haired woman with a smile so warm that even though she wasn't the greatest beauty in the world, his father had fallen in love at first sight. Of course, then his cursed hand had made him caress her bottom, and he had gotten slapped. It had been a dangerous relationship to the two who participated in it, but they had truly loved each other. His mother, though, had died when Miroku was five from an illness, and his father had never been the same after that. Miroku believed that during the last few years he had truly looked forward to the day when his wind tunnel would consume him.

"And it took him from you right before your eyes?" Kagome asked.

"Yes." It was Miroku's turn to feel slightly uncomfortable, but Kagome hugged him.

"I'm sorry that you had to lose your father like that," Kagome said, and Miroku shrugged his shoulders slightly.

"He wanted to join my mother. I hated to see him die, but after her death his heart was half in the other world anyways," Miroku said wistfully.

"I know what you mean. My mother was devastated after my father's death. I think she only kept going because of Grandpa, Souta, and me," Kagome said.

"What do you plan to do about telling the others?" Miroku asked in a complete change of the subject.

Kagome stared at her hands. "I am going to tell them when we get back to Kaede's village, and let them absorb everything while I am back in my time. I need to visit my father's resting place and apologize to his spirit, and take care of some other things so I will probably be gone for a week."

Miroku frowned. "I see the necessity of this, but won't it seem to the others that you are running away?"

"I suppose it might, but by the time we reach the village it will probably be the night before the anniversary, and I have to be there for mom," Kagome said.

"Are you going to explain everything to them?" Miroku asked.

"I am not sure if I am going to tell them everything, but I will tell them enough about the events surrounding my father's death so that they don't completely hate me," Kagome said. She already dreaded the looks of confusion, disbelief, and pain, but it was her fault and she deserved it.

"I think they will be sad that you didn't tell them, but I think it will hurt worse that you didn't think they would understand," Miroku said.

"Either way they won't be happy with me," Kagome said regretfully, "The only things that bring me consolation are that you will stand by me and that I know that I am finally doing the right thing after almost a year of cowardice and even time as a bad daughter."

"Sister of my heart, I will always stand by you but you should not continue to hurt yourself by continuing to believe that this makes you a bad person. You are only human, and we all make mistakes. Did I not try and pull Inuyasha into my wind tunnel at one point?" Miroku asked.

"I think that is slightly different," Kagome said. "We weren't exactly on the same side at that point, and we both know how Inuyasha is."

"My point exactly. At the beginning of this journey of yours you weren't exactly best of friends with Inuyasha, and so you didn't feel the need to inform him of your skills. At the time you believed you were under a sworn vow and under the circumstances you did the best you could," Miroku said.

Kagome shook her head in doubt but decided to stop arguing. "I guess we should get back," Kagome said. Miroku realized that she was avoiding anymore discussion but decided to go along with her.

"There is only one more night before we reach the village, would you like to gather wood with me again?" Miroku asked.

"I would enjoy that," Kagome said, and stood up while placing Kirara on her shoulder and holding the wood.

"Let us return, then," Miroku said, and lead the way back to a camp where everyone else was starting to grow more even more suspicious.

That night the group was silent. No discussion, no talk. Even Shippou didn't say any thing. Miroku tried to liven things up by groping Sango, but all he received was a rather large lump and glares from everyone but Kagome. He gave up with a sigh, hoping that once everything was cleared up the group's dynamics would return to normal.

The next day and night passed in a similar manner. Miroku and Kagome left for wood again, but since feelings were running so high they didn't spend much time talking and simply gathered a great quantity of wood before returning. The next day, as they were approaching the village, Inuyasha broke.

"That's it, this is ridiculous! Someone tell me what in the hell is going on!" Inuyasha screamed this in a fairly loud voice, as he was rather aggravated.

"I wouldn't mind knowing either," Sango growled.

"I must leave it to Kagome to decide," Miroku said. Everyone's attention turned to the girl, Inuyasha glaring, Sango with a rather dark face, Miroku compassionate, and Shippou curious. Kirara bit a flea (it wasn't Myouga).

Kagome looked down at her feet. "Is there somewhere we can sit down?" Kagome asked. Inuyasha rolled his eyes and lead everyone to a nearby clearing where their conversations couldn't be overheard by the casual passerby.

"Miroku, why don't you say why you volunteered gathering wood the first time, and I'll explain from there," Kagome said. Her voice was filled with dread, and her heart was starting to beat more quickly. She tried to calm down while Miroku talked.

"I am not sure about everyone else, but I had noticed that Kagome had become rather quiet over the past few weeks. I suppose it happened so gradually that no one noticed, but something brought it to my attention, and since it wasn't getting better I decided to confront her," Miroku's voice drifted off. Everyone's eyes turned to Kagome.

Kagome started to fiddle with her hands. "The anniversary of my father's death is growing near, and it was bringing up a lot of issues for me. There is something that I have been keeping secret from you."

"Well, what is it?" Inuyasha asked in his normal irreverent voice. Miroku winced but said nothing.

"Back in my time, I am rather skilled at using many weapons," Kagome said this in a bit of a rush, but everyone caught it and looked at her disbelievingly. Well, everyone except for Miroku.

"You?" Inuyasha asked with a tone of disbelief in his voice.

"I haven't practiced in almost three years now, but yes," Kagome's voice was growing softer, and she was avoiding looking into anyone's eyes.

"Wait, you're serious about this? And you never told me?" Inuyasha's anger was starting to grow.

"I had reasons!" Kagome said in a strangled voice.

"Reasons more important then other people's lives? Then gathering the jewel shards? Were you just faking how much you sucked with shooting arrows? What else have you lied about?" Inuyasha shouted.

"I was wrong, all right? My teacher sucked with a bow and arrows and so he never taught me! I haven't lied about anything else, and the weapons I just never mentioned!" Kagome's voice was growing more strained.

"Inuyasha, if you would just—" Miroku started, but was cut off.

"No, I will not! I am not going to accept any more excuses from her!" Inuyasha shouted. Kagome gave a strangled sob, ran over to a Kirara that transformed without Kagome having to ask, and took Kagome back to the well. Miroku hit Inuyasha over the head with his staff, hard.

"You idiot! Do you know how much this has been troubling Kagome? She did have good reasons, and she just made a mistake like every other human being," Miroku said. "And you completely ignored what she said about her father!"

"Sango, don't you think that Kagome should have told us?" Inuyasha asked, going for support.

Sango, who had gone silent during his tirade, sighed. "I would like to hear more," she said, and her voice was sad. Kagome hadn't told her something that was truly important, and that really hurt her. She would have to hear more, especially from Kagome, before she understood.

"You sit," Miroku said sternly to Inuyasha. "Let me explain a little more. Kagome was really nervous about telling everyone else, and it didn't come out right. I practically had to force her to tell me everything as it was."

Inuyasha grumbled but he wanted to hear this before he yelled more. Shippou, who was watching with wide eyes, sat down by Sango sensing that it was the safest spot at the moment.

"Okay, you did catch the fact about her father's death, right?" Miroku asked. Sango nodded and Inuyasha grunted.

"Okay, her father was, from Kagome has told me, extremely skilled with weapons. It is a talent that has been passed down the generations, and she was chosen to be the heir to that learning. Souta, who came later, was to become the priest of the shrine." Miroku didn't mention anything about adoption as Kagome hadn't said a thing about it. "Now, Kagome became very gifted at what she did, but close to her thirteenth year her father was murdered by an unknown assailant. Kagome, who was understandably close to her father, was devastated. She brushed over that, but I could tell that his death really hit her hard and caused her to make some unwise decisions. You see, she thought that her father didn't try to get back to her family at all, and felt like she was betrayed. She decided that she wouldn't use any of his teachings and so refused to pick up any weapon and use it to fight that he had taught her. She didn't tell you when she first fell down the well, because frankly, you weren't that close. Later, she was embarrassed and didn't want everyone to be angry at her. Just so you know, she was considering breaking her oath and fighting just because she hated seeing everyone get hurt."

"That was dumb," was Inuyasha's comment.

"I can understand her reasoning, but why didn't she tell us?" Sango asked.

"Did you miss Inuyasha's reaction right now? I told her that everyone would listen, and that, while you wouldn't be happy she didn't trust you to understand, you would be able to react as adults. Apparently, that wasn't possible. She probably thinks that Inuyasha isn't going to forgive her." Miroku was glaring at Inuyasha.

"So Kagome didn't tell us because she thought we would get mad?" Shippou asked.

"No, she didn't tell us because she didn't want to lose us as friends," Miroku said.

"I guess I can understand then," Shippou said.

"Something else to consider is what if Kagome who has only gone up against human opponents, never trained to fight for her life, tried to go up against a real demon," Miroku said.

Everyone's faces blanched. Even Shippou understood the magnitude of that. "Kagome's going to get hurt!" Shippou wailed.

"She has her bow and arrows, stupid. Worse scenario she drops everything else and starts shooting at demons again as she normally does," Inuyasha said after a moment.

Until that moment they had been talking in the abstract, but then Shippou unconsciously looked over to Kagome's bag where her bow and arrows still rested.

"No she doesn't! She doesn't even have her bag! It's your fault if she dies, Inuyasha!" Shippou wailed. Everyone glanced to over the aforementioned items, and started to run. Inuyasha, being the fastest without Kirara there, ran to the well and sniffed. Kagome had made it through and Kirara in her smaller form was sitting on the well, glaring at him. Inuyasha tried to pick her up and received a vicious swipe of Kirara's claws.

"Hey, it's Kagome's fault!" Inuyasha yelled. Sango and Miroku, who came up gasping for air behind him, stopped to catch their breath. Shippou, who had been floating above them, popped back into his normal form.

"Let's go back to Kaede's hut and wait for her," Sango said after a moment.

"I am going to go find out what is going on now," Inuyasha said, and started to jump into the well, only to be stopped by Miroku.

"You can apologize the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow is the day she honors her father now that I have helped her with her feelings, and maybe she will be more receptive to what you have to say the day after that. Sango, when she comes back do you think maybe we could train her so she doesn't try and get herself killed by the first demon she tries to fight close up?" Miroku asked.

Sango said, "I'll need to talk with her first to come to terms with everything, but I think so." Sango was still hurt, and needed to clear the air beforehand.

"Okay, now that that is settled, let's go talk to Kaede." Miroku said. The others followed him back to the village in silence as thoughts raced through their heads.

End of Chapter One

The next chapter is coming up soon, depending on things. Hope to hear from you and hope you have enjoyed the first chapter of the first book!


	2. Chapter 2

All right! Great big thanks to returning readers and reviewers (I'm sure everyone is tired by this by now) and a big thank you to new readers and reviewers who decided to give me a chance! I hope everyone enjoys reading this chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho. Now, everyone who is surprised raise their hands!

I, the illustrious feathergriffin, wrote this chapter. My brilliant editor Adrasteia Wen edited it, and then I read over it one last time. Enjoy!

**Fire's Awakening**

_Chapter Two_

Kagome lay on her bed staring at the ceiling. She was still upset about last night, but she still planned on going back. As long as Miroku stood by her, which she was sure he would, she would be fine even if everyone else hated her. But today was her father's day. Kagome sat up and went silently to the shower, washed, and then went back to her room. She dressed in somber clothes: a dark blue skirt that went to her knees and an only slightly lighter blouse. Kagome brushed her hair up into a ponytail and put her brush down. Then she carefully wound her hair into a bun and stuck a few pins into it until it was inclined to stay there. Kagome finished by sneaking quietly out of the house.

Now, normally, this would be rather hard. However it was about four in the morning, and the others weren't inclined to be awake yet so she had this time to herself. Kagome walked around to the back of the house, over a low wall, and into a small forested area. Kagome knelt and gave a deep bow to her surroundings; she was in her father's grave.

Kagome's father hadn't liked all the mess that went into burials, so when he had died he had been cremated instead of the Western style of burial. Kagome's mother, after much thought, had decided to sprinkle his ashes here, his second favorite spot besides the sacred tree and one that was more private. A small breeze started to blow, and Kagome shivered.

"Father, I wish to apologize for my actions. I was blinded by my grief and never stopped to think of the possibilities. Maybe you were caught off guard, maybe you knew the person, and maybe it was even a demon. Whatever it was, I should have never doubted your love." Kagome bowed her head as tears started to creep down her face. "I loved you so much, Father, and it hurt so much that you were gone. I promise I shall honor what you taught me from now on, Father." Kagome's shoulders were shaking slightly. Suddenly she felt a touch and whirled around, expecting to see her mother. That was not who was there though.

"Father!" she cried. It was indeed her father, dressed not in what he had been buried in but instead his favorite fighting clothes. He was a bit transparent, but that was to be expected.

"Father, I'm so sorry. I should have known." Kagome's father held up his hand and knelt down beside her. He gently brushed along Kagome's cheek, and Kagome felt an icy cold on her skin.

"Father, I promise to keep your traditions going," Kagome finally said desperately, unable to take his loving stare anymore. Then he spoke. It was his voice, his deep, familiar voice that Kagome hadn't known she had longed to hear so much.

"Kagome, my dear," he said, running his hand on her cheek again. "I don't care about that. I am just glad you know that I loved you, darling." Kagome's tears started to fall once more, harder than before. "Don't cry, please. I didn't hang around this long for this to start. You know I love your smile."

Kagome managed a tremulous smile. "If it is because I am a priestess that I can see you, I have never been happier to be one." Her father laughed gently.

"I, too, am grateful. I wasn't expecting you to fall down the well and meet that rather rude half-demon, but it was worth it. I hated to see your tears, though," he said.

"So you really forgive me?" Kagome asked. Her eyes were overly bright.

"How could I not? You were in so much pain that I was frantic about you," he said.

"Everyone else misses you, too," Kagome said.

"I know. I miss your mother and brother dearly, too. I even miss that old coot that calls himself your grandfather," Kagome's father chuckled lightly. Kagome had to give a small laugh, too.

"Kagome, I can't stay here for much longer. I have to go. Please tell everyone how much I miss them and how much I love them, even the old coot. I also have some advice for you. Go to Genkai's and tell her that you need some advice on how to fight demons. She knows of them and if you ask her to she won't say anything to those who shouldn't know about it. I never was that good at it; I didn't have enough spiritual energy, but you do and will. For now, make sure that she knows not to tell her apprentice anything, all right? Don't stay too long here either. Make sure you are back within a week, okay?" he asked.

"How did you know how long I told Miroku?" Kagome asked, laughing as she cried.

"I know my baby girl, and she likes nice, round numbers. Besides, I have my sources. Good bye," he whispered, and he put his hands so that they cradled her head, drew her face towards him, and gave a gentle kiss to Kagome's forehead. Then he floated up. He sat there for some time, watching as Kagome finally was able to bring herself to a somewhat normal appearance and walked back into the house.

Botan appeared by him. "You didn't tell her everything," Botan said finally.

"It isn't time for her to find out yet," he said.

"Well, it might not be time for her to know, but it is certainly time for you to get going! Three years now I have been trying to drag you out of here, and it is about time I stop having to cover for you. Grab hold!" Kagome's father went on a ride that was quite reminiscent of a roller coaster. He wasn't fond of roller coasters.

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Kagome walked into the kitchen of the house and stood there, watching as her mother made breakfast. Finally she said, "Good morning." Kagome's voice was soft, and when Kagome's mother turned around she could tell she had been crying.

"Good morning, dear," she said, and continued to fix breakfast. Soon Grandpa and Souta joined them, and for once the kitchen was quiet.

"I saw father's ghost today," Kagome said after everyone had been served and had started to eat. Eating utensils clattered to the table, and Grandpa actually choked on some of his food.

"What?" her mother managed finally.

"I guess I was able to see him because I have a miko's powers," Kagome said.

"How come I never saw him! It's not fair; I'm the one who is supposed to be the priest!" Souta had been upset this morning, and while normally he could deal with his sister with no feelings of jealously, her getting to see Father was too much. She had always gotten to be with Father, and sometimes he had thought that Father loved Kagome more than him.

"Souta, I'm…I can't say I'm sorry, Souta. I wish that you could have seen him, too, but he had to go." Kagome looked at him with sad eyes. Souta sniffed and looked at his plate.

"What did he say?" Kagome's mother's voice had a hint of desperation in her voice. She had dearly loved her husband and missed him every single day. Half of the time she was in the kitchen she believed he would surprise her by putting his arms around her and looking over her shoulder to see what she was making. Often he had tried to get a free sample. Sometimes at night she would just stare at his side of the bed, willing him to appear. He never did either of those things though. Any bit of him, even if it came from her daughter, would help.

"He loves you, Mom, and misses you so much, all of you, even you, Grandpa. He called you an old coot twice. He wanted to be here with us so desperately." Kagome's eyes started to water again and she wiped at it furiously. Souta quietly stood up and went to his room, ready for the first time in three years to truly mourn his father's death. Grandpa left, grumbling about no one respected him, even his son-in-law and he was dead, but Kagome thought she could see tears in his eyes, too. Kagome's mother, however, just looked at her. Soon they were hugging each other fiercely, and they didn't let go for a long time.

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The next day Kagome was up bright and early. She showered quickly and scrambled through her clothes for something practical. Ever since her father died she had gone to wearing every piece of clothing she could find that was impractical, and now she was facing the consequences. Finally she found a simple fighting uniform that her father had gotten for her and given to her early for her thirteenth birthday, but it had been too big (he was impossible with judging what size of clothing she needed, but any time she needed an upgrade in a weapon he somehow knew exactly which one to get). It was simple: a quiet forest green sleeveless turtleneck that went down to her thighs with slits that went up to her waist and pants that were a dark brown, with a sash the same color as the pants. Kagome had laughingly asked if he was planning on playing hide and go seek with her in the forest, and he had just laughed.

Kagome held the folded clothes to her chest tightly, closing her eyes and breathing in their scent. Her contemplation was interrupted, however.

"What are you doing?" Inuyasha asked from his window. Kagome squeaked, jumped, and promptly fell over.

"And you expect me to believe that you are good with weapons?" Inuyasha asked in a derisive tone. Kagome, about to sit him, thought of something different. She slowly and discretely reached under her set of drawers while distracting him.

"Why are you here? I honestly thought you wouldn't want to see me again," Kagome asked, voice hurt.

"I…shit!" Kagome had thrown the dagger she had half-forgotten was under the dresser at him. Inuyasha only had time to crouch on the floor as the dagger flew over his head. Kagome rushed past him and looked down. Luckily everyone was inside and hadn't been hit. Kagome had kind of expected Inuyasha to do some macho type thing like catch it with his bare hands or flip it away. Actually, she wasn't quite sure how good her aim would be after three years of no practice.

"Good, I'm glad no one was down there," Kagome said, sitting down on her bed with a relieved sigh.

"What in the…what did I do?" Inuyasha yelled, standing up.

"You didn't believe I could use a weapon. I was offering you proof," Kagome said. She was looking over his shoulder to avoid his eyes.

"You throw a dagger and expect me to believe you can keep yourself from getting killed with a variety of weapons?" Inuyasha asked with disdain.

"Not really," Kagome said. "It was better than a sit, wasn't it?" Kagome's voice was soft. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I had made a promi—" Kagome was cut off.

"Miroku told us," Inuyasha said. "Why didn't you tell me? I would have been relieved that you had some skill to protect yourself if something happened to me."

"I thought you would hate me," Kagome said. She was looking at her lap now.

"Why would I?" Inuyasha heaved a sigh and sank onto the bed beside her, cross-legged with his arms folded in his normal fashion. He was about to say something further, than sniffed. He picked up the dropped clothes, and sniffed even more deeply.

"These smell different. It's faint, but it smells like some guy. Why do you have—" Inuyasha was going to say something further when Kagome snatched the clothes from him and hugged them to her tightly.

"They have his scent on them?" Kagome asked, and then without saying anything else buried her head into the clothes and tried to smell what Inuyasha did. She gave up after a minute and looked up at him, eyes looking bright.

"I'm sorry; it's just I miss him a lot," she said.

"That's your dad's smell?" Inuyasha asked.

"It must be," Kagome said. "He got them when he was on a trip and brought them back with him with his other clothes. They were the last things he gave me before"—Kagome looked away.

Inuyasha felt guilty. The only other person he had seen with similar grief was Sango. He never expected that Kagome had that kind of grief in her. "You really loved him, didn't you?" Inuyasha asked. Kagome nodded.

"It really killed me when he died. My family is such a close-knit group, and our relationship was so strong. It's like each of us are the others' arms and legs. When we lost one, it was hard to do anything anymore," Kagome said.

Inuyasha felt himself wishing wistfully for such a close-knit family. What would it have been like to grow up with his father and mother, hell, even Sesshoumaru, and getting a chance to be that close?

"Why did you do something so stupid as to swear to never use his teachings again?" Inuyasha asked.

Kagome laughed. "I was stupid. Still am, just maybe getting a little smarter."

"So you really can fight?" Inuyasha asked.

"Yes. I never fought against something inhuman, but I was considered pretty gifted. Of course, it might be because my father was so eager to start training that he was training me at the age of two and three," Kagome said.

"You're kidding!" Inuyasha said. Two? For a human in Kagome's time?

"No. It wasn't anything big, but I had mastered quite a few kata by the time I was four with different weapons," Kagome said.

"That's good and everything, but if you want to start fighting for real you are going to have to learn from the others first. You might have started when you were two, but most of the demons you face have been around for a much longer time than you," Inuyasha said. His voice was a bit gruff, and he hated allowing Kagome to take even more chances, but if she wanted to help how could he stop her? Just as he finished that thought he was surrounded by a hug of death—literally. Kagome was so happy that she was squeezing the air out of his lungs. Kagome let go after a minute, and Inuyasha made sure to take several deep, inconspicuous breaths before he said anything. Meanwhile, Kagome just sat there grinning at him.

"What was that for?" Inuyasha finally asked.

"For forgiving me for such a big mistake. You're so great!" Kagome said. Inuyasha blushed and looked away.

"Wasn't that big of a deal," he muttered finally.

"Yes it was. I value you as a friend very highly, and I am not going to let you belittle that friendship," Kagome said sternly. Inuyasha felt a slight twinge of his heart, but he was so used to ignoring those that he barely noticed it.

"Keh. Anyways, let's get back," Inuyasha said.

"Um, Inuyasha, I have to go visit with a friend for a few days. I'm a bit rusty, you know, and I was hoping I could get her to help me out a little before I went back," Kagome said.

"You can do that with Sango," Inuyasha said.

"Inuyasha, I have something else planned other than that. I can't do it over there. I promise you, it will make you happy, but until I can make sure it is possible I want to keep it a secret," Kagome said.

"Another secret? Kagome, not this again. You are telling me this time," Inuyasha said sternly.

Kagome looked at him to see how serious he was. Very. Oh well, everything else was going into the open. "I am going to try and see if I can be home-schooled, Inuyasha. That means that I won't have to come back so often for school."

"You certain?" Inuyasha asked. He knew how important school was to her; after all, she came back here so often for it.

"Yes. You better get going; I am sure the others are waiting for you," Kagome said. Inuyasha didn't say anything.

"What do Sango and Shippou think?" Kagome asked. She was afraid of the answer.

Inuyasha snorted. "Kagome, I think you could go stark raving nuts and run around shouting, 'I love squirrels' at the top of your voice, and Shippou wouldn't care."

Kagome had to giggle at that image. "Where on Earth did you get such a ridiculous idea?" But before Inuyasha could come up with an answer, Kagome asked, "And Sango?"

"I think she will be okay with it, but I think she needs to talk with you first. I think she's moping," Inuyasha said. Of course, he had been more upset, but he wouldn't mention that.

"I guess that is the best I can hope for," Kagome said, then gave him another hug, this one gentler.

"Thank you," Kagome said, letting go and looking into his eyes. Inuyasha grew embarrassed again.

"We've already gone through this!" he finally protested.

"All right, I can take a hint. Why don't you get going? I'll try and get back as soon as possible," Kagome said.

"Fine, just don't take too long. Shippou gets whiny after awhile," Inuyasha said.

"Yeah, I'm sure he does," Kagome said, and watched as Inuyasha jumped out of her window and disappeared into the well house. He was so sweet, sometimes. She really loved him. He loved Kikyo though, and she was beginning to think that maybe she didn't mind as much as she had before.

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Kagome looked up nervously as the steps to the shrine rose in front of her. "I hope I don't get kicked down them as soon as I climb all the way up," she muttered and started her climb. After climbing what seemed to be fifty steps too many, she finally reached the top. The area in front of the house was quiet, and Kagome wasn't sure of what was happening. However, Kagome could sense a strange source of energy, and she continued to follow it. She went through the creepy woods, avoiding the stranger places she sensed, and over the hill on the other side as she continued. A song, she couldn't remember the name of it, started to play in her head. "Over the river and through to the woods, to Grandmother's house I go!"

"I'm going nuts," Kagome muttered. She passed a large building that was used for training, and then entered a marsh. Kagome managed to keep walking, but she was having a hard time. Tortured voices were calling in her head, and they kept getting louder. Just as she reached the source of the strange power, she collapsed. The people in the group, who had been arguing, turned and started to run towards her.

"Stop shouting!" Kagome cried. She started writhe back and forth.

"Damn!" said the old, short woman. She looked around her. "The tournament is put on hold temporarily. Botan, get over here and take this girl back to the shrine! She is too sensitive to be in this battlefield! What the hell is she doing here anyways?" The last part was muttered to herself. Botan looked nervously at Yusuke, who shrugged, and Botan started to pull her out of there by her armpits. Genkai sighed.

"Never mind, Botan. Can you get a shield around her head so that the dead souls here stop yelling at her?" Genkai asked.

"No, but I think I can do something else," Botan said. Botan, who had been annoyed at all of the dead spirits anyways, shouted, "Shut up! Leave the girl alone, or you'll end up in the deepest hell you can imagine!" The ghostly clamor stopped abruptly. They could sense the waves of energy coming from Botan, and as she was the pilot of the river Styx, they were inclined to shut up.

Ignoring the questions of the tall one, the brat, and the short one, Genkai said, "You, dimwit, pick her up and take her back to where we were! Don't stand around gawking; do it!"

Yusuke, grumbling, did as she said. As soon as they returned, Botan hovered over her, muttering things to herself.

The one that Yusuke suspected to be Rando, if he hadn't already been eliminated, spoke up, "If the fuss about the girl is done, I would like it if we could get on with the fight."

Kuwabara, who had been trying to pester Genkai with questions, turned around and yelled, "Bring it on, short stuff! Leave the poor girl alone!" Sadly, while Kuwabara was physically more than a match for the demon, the techniques the demon used were far superior to Kuwabara's wild swinging with his newly discovered sword. Soon, Kuwabara was on the ground with broken bones, and Yusuke was one pissed off Spirit Detective. Yusuke, however, wasn't counting on Rando's revealed form, or his interest in trying out several of his techniques on him. He managed, however, to let loose a rather spectacular spirit gun shot, draining most of his remaining energy to the dregs. That didn't work and Rando wasn't even closed to being finished. Since Yusuke was so drained of energy, Rando decided to put a little bit more life into the fight.

Rando ran over to where Botan was nursing Kagome, punched Botan on the side of her head before she could do anything, and then looked at the two girls lying helpless in front of him. "So many choices," his demented voice said, its pitch rising in excitement. "What to do?"

"What you do is stay the hell away from them!" Yusuke yelled, and the thought of Botan and the unknown but innocent girl in the demon's clutches prompted him into a staggering run.

"Oh, I know! I'll…what is this? The girl is waking up," Rando commented. Yusuke ran faster. Kagome was indeed waking up, and as Rando watched in amusement, crouching in front of them, Kagome groggily woke up. Kagome sat up, saw Rando sitting in front of her, shrieked, and threw out her hand and purified him just like she had purified Mistress Centipede. Kagome looked at her hand in horror, then up at the shocked Yusuke.

"Please tell me he was a bad demon," Kagome said. Yusuke fell on his butt, relieved, and burst out into laughter. Genkai chuckled, and even the unconscious Kuwabara let out a grunt.

"Yes, Kagome, he was a bad demon," Genkai said, smiling.

"That's a relief," Kagome said, looking at her hands. She had almost forgotten about the first time that happened. Could she do that again? Her thoughts were interrupted.

"Who are you, anyways?" Yusuke asked.

"My name's Kagome. Higurashi Kagome," Kagome said.

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Kuwabara was healed and sent back to the city, grumbling along the way. Yusuke neglected to mention that Kagome had been the one to defeat Rando, partially to tease him about it later, if he decided to mention that he hadn't been the one to have done so. Botan had departed for Spirit World, though not where Kagome could watch her go. Once there she found out that Koenma had not been able to watch the end of the fight, for somehow static had filled the screen as soon as Kagome had entered the picture. He was having a fit about it, too, but since Yusuke's spirit hadn't come through and Botan couldn't make her way through the stacks of paperwork to make a report, Koenma dismissed the matter and didn't question how Rando had been killed until much later.

Back at the shrine, Yusuke slept while Kagome and Genkai had a discussion.

"So, why'd you come here? I thought you never wanted to see me again?" Genkai asked. Kagome blushed.

"I was a young idiot," Kagome said finally. That startled a laugh out of Genkai.

"I never got over Dad's death, not until a friend of mine listened to my story, and helped me deal with my feelings. He also made me realize my vow was a bit unfounded," Kagome said. She was staring at her hands to avoid Genkai's piercing look.

"That is a bit of an understatement. So, why did you come here, girl, and interrupt my tournament?" Genkai asked.

"Well, I wanted to apologize for what I said to you at Dad's funeral. If you don't mind, I would also like to practice here for a few days. Otherwise Souta will be begging me to train him and give my grandfather a heart attack," Kagome said.

"I guess, but you will have to be quiet, since Yusuke will be starting his training as my full apprentice," Genkai said. "Speaking of that, you, as I said, interrupted my tournament. Now I will never know if Yusuke could have beaten him."

"Whoops?" Kagome offered.

"'Whoops' isn't good enough. You'll have to fight him," Genkai said.

"But what if I win!" Kagome protested

Genkai chuckled. "Then Yusuke will have to keep fighting you until he wins. Frankly, a miko isn't the best candidate for my last apprentice."

"You know, then?" Kagome said softly.

"The pink purification powers tipped me off. I'm old, not blind, girl," Genkai complained.

"You're only sixty-six," Kagome said. "My grandfather is older than that."

"Thank you, I had almost managed to forget how old I was," Genkai said dryly.

"I take it allowing Yusuke to win isn't an option, then?" Kagome asked wistfully.

"No, and don't be so cocky; that dimwit is pretty good. I expect him to be cocky, not you," Genkai admonished.

"Yes ma'am," Kagome said, trying to look contrite.

"I'm no 'ma'am,'" Genkai said dryly.

"Should I say 'Yes sir,' then?" Kagome asked innocently.

"Be off with you. If you are going to fight Yusuke, and if you haven't fought in three years, you'll need to at least be warmed up," Genkai said.

"Yes, Master Genkai," and this time no hint of playfulness could be heard.

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Kagome did train. She practiced with her weapons, and even did some bare-handed work though that was not her strong suit. She eventually was starting to feel some of her skill returning, though she still had a ways to go. Her arms ached. Frankly, she ached everywhere. Finally she gave up and went to go grab a snack, only to find Yusuke already in the kitchen.

"Hello," Kagome said as she poured some water. She took a sip, and savored the sweet taste of the water in her mouth.

"The old bat tells me—" but before he could finish Kagome spit the water out of her mouth.

"Old bat?" Kagome asked disbelievingly.

"Yeah," Yusuke said, grinning. Kagome put her hand over her throat, and, remembering Inuyasha's disrespectful manner towards Kaede, managed to calm down.

"Genkai's going to put you through hell," Kagome muttered, then drank all of the water in her glass at once.

"No she isn't," Yusuke said, grinning. Kagome raised an eyebrow.

"I'm just here because my boss didn't want that demon you did your whatever on to manage to become Genkai's student and learn her techniques. He never said anything about being her student. I just stuck around here because I thought it might be interesting to see what you've got," Yusuke was grinning irrepressibly as he said this. Kagome somehow thought that him getting out of it at this point wasn't likely, but declined a comment. Let him build his own pyre.

"So, what is your experience fighting?" Kagome asked.

"Oh, I mostly stick to street fighting. You?" Yusuke asked.

Kagome's eyes darkened briefly, but she said, "My dad was a weapons master. I learned a few things from him."

"Can you fight bare-handed?" Yusuke asked, frowning.

"Yes, but I'm not that good at it," Kagome said frankly.

"Hm," Yusuke said.

"Okay, you two slackers, stop sitting around my kitchen jawing and get outside and fight!" came the disturbingly loud yell from behind them. The two teens both jumped, and soon they were facing each other outside of the shrine buildings. Kagome had one of Genkai's naginata, a sword, and a couple of daggers. Yusuke had his fists, his feet, and a wicked grin.

"Begin!" Genkai snapped. Yusuke began running at Kagome at full force. Kagome squeaked and jumped out of the way, lowering the naginata so that Yusuke almost ran into and barely managed to jump over it.

"Shit," Yusuke swore, but turned around and charged again. Kagome grabbed one of the daggers and threw it, but Yusuke easily managed to dodge it. However, he could not get past Kagome's naginata defense without coming into close contact with the blade, so Yusuke decided to draw back for a minute. Yusuke then decided to see how good Kagome was with energy attacks, and let out a spirit gun bullet. Unusually for him, it was not a full-powered one, but Yusuke thought that Kagome could dodge it.

Kagome, of course, could have, but she thought that if she powered up the naginata and used it almost like a bat she could deflect it. She was wrong. The naginata broke, and the bullet hit Kagome straight on. It threw her back several feet, having caught her off balance, and knocked her out.

Yusuke looked at his hand. "It wasn't that strong," he protested.

"Kagome's type of powers is almost totally for fighting demons, and what power isn't devoted to that is for passive things like shields and spells, or in some cases healing. Apparently, she hasn't fought a human with spirit energy before, and hasn't had a chance to discover that little fact." Genkai puzzled upon that, but brushed it off and continued. "Once again, you get lucky, dimwit," Genkai said, and walked over, knelt by Kagome, and felt her head. "She'll wake up in a few hours, nothing serious. Make yourself useful and pick her up."

Yusuke did as Genkai told him, and soon they had Kagome resting in her room. Instead of waiting there, like Yusuke had assumed they would, Genkai decided to start promptly on his training.

"No way, old bat, I only came here for Rando," Yusuke said, grinning. He was glad; after meeting Genkai he had the unpleasant feeling that her training would be, well, unpleasant.

"You might have come here for Rando, boy, but you're staying here because you don't have a choice. As soon as you entered my tournament you agreed to become my apprentice when and if you won. You don't have a choice," Genkai said.

"You can't keep me here!" Yusuke said, growing nervous.

"Wanna bet, boy?" Genkai said, grinning. It was very obvious which way any smart person would bet. Yusuke's training had begun.

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Kagome woke up, yawned, and went to the bathroom. She soon made it back to the bed and was about to fall asleep when she truly woke up, and sat up quickly.

"What happened? I should have been able to deflect that," Kagome muttered to herself. Since Kagome needed to know what went wrong, Kagome went after Genkai. She found her, along with Yusuke, balancing on small crystals on the ground on one finger, with only some blue light keeping them balanced. Genkai's was a tidy blue dot, but Yusuke's was much larger, and flickered all over the place.

"You're not concentrating, Yusuke," Kagome said, and was rewarded by Yusuke swearing and falling forward flat on his face. It held a close resemblance to a sit and Kagome had to keep from chuckling. Genkai's light, however, continued to burn steadily. Kagome grew curious, and ignoring the grumbling Yusuke, walked over and knelt in front of Genkai.

"What is this? I've only ever seen humans with spiritual energy before," Kagome asked wonderingly.

Genkai said, "I thought there weren't many left with holy powers anymore. Get back on, slacker, and stop complaining about it! If you had been focused, you wouldn't have fallen over!"

Kagome jumped nervously at the first comment. "Um, I can't really explain that," Kagome said nervously.

"Humph. I will let it go for now. This is spiritual power, what you are thinking about are holy or purifying powers. Spiritual power can be manipulated in many ways, but it can't be stop by purification powers. Those mostly only work against demons," Genkai admonished. Kagome giggled nervously.

"I think I figured that out now," Kagome said. Yusuke snorted.

"Well, if you don't mind I'm going to go grab something to eat then get back to training. I am still feeling too slow!" Kagome complained.

"Three years without practice can do that to you," Genkai said in her dry tone. Yusuke choked besides her and almost fell over again. Genkai's eyes gleamed.

Kagome stood up, and walked in front of Yusuke. "What do you want?" he growled.

"I knew you weren't getting out of being her apprentice," Kagome said, grinning.

Yusuke fell over again and sat up, cross-legged and rubbing his jaw, "You could have warned me! I might have been able to get away!"

"You were too cocky," Kagome said, a slight smile on her face, and turned and left.

As she walked out the door, she could hear Genkai's voice shouting, "Along with that, you have a lousy sense of concentration! Get your ass back up in the air!" That comment was followed by more complaining and grumbling, which faded into the distance as Kagome walked away.

Kagome did what she said she was going to do. She grabbed a snack, took care of a few things, and then started going over her kata again. She switched periodically from weapon to weapon, and continued to rotate as soon as one set of muscles grew tired. Sadly, many weapons shared different groupings of muscles, and by the end of the night Kagome had twisted every possible way. She took a shower to wash off the sweat and collapsed into the bed, groaning. It wasn't a question of which muscle hurt more, since almost every one of them was sore. Kagome fell into a deep sleep, as soon as she managed to get past her overwhelming exhaustion.

The next day, Kagome woke in the middle of the morning, dressed in her clothes that she had washed last night, and grabbed a bagel. She went back into the room where she had last seen Yusuke and Genkai, and sure enough they were there. She sat in front of them and watched them for a moment, chewing thoughtfully. Yusuke's fist that wasn't involved in keeping him airborne clenched.

"You have been here all night, I assume," Kagome stated.

"Yes!" Yusuke shrieked. "I want down!"

"You can stop as soon as you get control of your concentration!" Genkai shouted. Kagome looked at the blue light, and sure enough, it was better, but it didn't even remotely resemble Genkai's pinprick of light.

"You want a snack?" Kagome asked.

"Yes!" Yusuke shouted.

"I don't think you get one," Kagome said, and there was a hint of compassion in her voice.

"Kagome is correct. I'm fine, Kagome," Genkai said.

"Okay," and Kagome finished her bagel, stood up, did a few stretches that made Yusuke's mouth fall open, in part admiration (of her body) and part horror (as he didn't know the human body could twist like that).

"Stop showing off, Kagome," Genkai said.

"I'm stiff!" Kagome complained, "Muscles that haven't gotten much use over three years are complaining loudly!"

"Your fault," Genkai said in an unsympathetic voice.

"I know," Kagome said dejectedly, and left the room.

There was silence then Yusuke asked, "She really hasn't fought in three years?" He felt a bit embarrassed. The fight had ended quickly, but that had been because of a stupid mistake on Kagome's part. She was pretty handy with that stick.

"Yes," Genkai said.

"Why on earth would she do a stupid thing like that?" Yusuke asked.

"Concentrate!" Genkai barked, and Yusuke twitched. He had apparently hit on a raw nerve, and he shut up for the moment.

Yusuke didn't get to stand up until that night. Even then, his power was only down to the size of a fluctuating baseball, and Genkai had promised that he would get to enjoy that exercise until it was at least as small as Genkai. That, of course, thrilled Yusuke. He stomped into the kitchen after making a strategic stop to the bathroom to see a small, home cooked meal waiting for them. It wasn't much, just some soup and noodles, but Yusuke who didn't have the benefit of a mom that cooked, and who hadn't eaten in a day thought it looked delicious. He proceeded to stuff himself to the amusement of Kagome, and Genkai had to reserve her portion before it was devoured. Luckily Kagome had just finished when they had walked in.

"That was pretty good," Yusuke said as he sat back. Kagome smiled, but shrugged.

"As long as you follow the recipe, and pay attention to what you are cooking, it isn't that hard. I think it is amazing when someone creates something, or has entire recipes memorized and doesn't have to measure everything out," Kagome said.

"Some people do that?" Yusuke asked.

"My mom," Kagome said, smiling. "She is amazing to watch in the kitchen."

"You are lucky," Yusuke said fervently.

"Yeah, I suppose I am," Kagome said. She sounded a bit surprised, as if she really hadn't thought about the fact that not everyone's parents were great cooks.

"How's your training going?" Genkai asked. Kagome laughed.

"I am dreading having to move tomorrow," Kagome said.

"That's good, but you should be reluctant to move now," Genkai said.

"I think the archery helped," Kagome said thoughtfully.

"Archery? Your dad never taught you—" and Genkai stopped as she realized the implications of what she said.

Kagome smiled in remembrance. "For a weapons master, he sucked at archery. He always put off teaching me, saying it was a coward's weapon, but that was just because he didn't want people to see how bad he was at it. He didn't know it, but I once saw him throw down a bow and quiver in disgust because he couldn't get the arrow into the target."

"Your dad's dead?" Yusuke asked.

"Yeah," Kagome said, looking into her drink thoughtfully.

"So is mine," Yusuke said.

"Do you have any brothers or sisters?" Kagome asked. She was relieved he wasn't going to give the whole "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have ever asked" speech.

"Nope. Just me and my mom, when she's there," Yusuke said.

"She away often?" Kagome asked.

"Yup. Mostly getting drunk," Yusuke said.

Kagome's face saddened and she thought for a moment. "Did you ever ask her not to?"

"When I was younger. I gave up after awhile," Yusuke said.

"Maybe if you showed you cared and didn't like her doing it, she would stop," Kagome said.

Yusuke blinked. "I tell her she's stupid and that she is killing herself."

"Um, I don't think that is quite the right way to go," Kagome said.

"How do you know?" Yusuke asked, a bit aggressively.

"Well, I don't have personal experience, but I am pretty good at understanding other people's problems. I am assuming your mom started drinking after your father died, and just never stopped. She probably knows what she is doing is wrong, but she doesn't want to admit a weakness and defends herself when pushed. If you say that watching her kill herself over a long period of time is killing you, and that you don't want to watch it happen anymore, it might have an effect. I'm not sure, but it is worth a try, isn't it?" Kagome asked her face innocent.

"Keh. I am going to bed," Yusuke said, and left.

Genkai looked at Kagome and she blushed. "Do you think it will do any good?" Kagome asked. Genkai shrugged.

"Who knows?" Genkai asked, "Maybe he'll try it, maybe he won't. Maybe it will work, maybe it won't. It definitely couldn't hurt."

"Genkai, is there anyway we can make Yusuke forget about my powers?" Kagome asked.

"Why?" Genkai asked her attention captured.

"I was given some advice by someone I trust that your apprentice should not know about them," Kagome asked.

"Something else you can't tell me?" Genkai asked wryly.

"I'll tell you as soon as everything is finished," Kagome assured her.

"I guess I can manage something," Genkai said.

"Thank you. Don't mention my miko abilities to others, either, would you? I don't think Botan and Kuwabara know, so as long as you don't tell anyone no one will," Kagome asked earnestly.

"This had better be a good explanation," Genkai said as she got up and put her things away.

"It is," Kagome assured her.

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The next two days passed both quickly and slowly for Kagome. The practice with weapons was starting to pay off as Kagome started to recover some of her old grace and speed, though she still had to practice some more until she back at her old skill level. That time passed slowly until she was at the end of the practice session where it seemed hardly any time had passed. Sleep occupied most of the rest of the time, and that passed quickly as well.

Yusuke forgot about her powers, though Genkai said it was only a weak thing. When asked, she explained that it was only a slight block, and Yusuke's mind had come up with some alternative explanation. She was now a normal human to him, albeit an aware and well trained one (he had spied on her practice once), and the block would most likely remain until something jarred it from his memory. Then Kagome had better have a good explanation for him, too, because he would remember remembering her not being normal, then forgetting. The patch was weak enough so that it wouldn't be easily recognizable, and so hopefully no one else would bring his attention to it. Kagome thanked Genkai, and she brushed it off.

"It was nothing. I expect a full explanation, and hopefully at some point to be able to remove that patch. I want my pupil to be aware of that aspect of a human's power," Genkai said. Kagome had agreed, and soon it was time for her to leave. She hugged Genkai, glad that they had repaired their relationship, and had even hugged a surprised Yusuke.

"What was that for?" Yusuke had asked.

"You're a friend now. That is how I say good bye to a friend. Good luck with your training!" and Kagome walked off.

Yusuke blinked, smiled, and then shouted, "Like I need good luck!"

"You do!" Kagome yelled back.

"Just get out of here!" Genkai yelled. "We need to get back to training!" Kagome fancied she could hear Yusuke's faint groan as she trotted down the steps of the shrine.

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Kagome smiled as she walked up the shrine steps to her home and was greeted by her grandfather.

"Why did you have your mother apply for you to become home schooled? I had just come up with a great set of diseases!" Grandpa complained.

"Now Grandfather, this was right for Kagome. Don't begrudge her this option," Ms. Higurashi said kindly as she emerged from the house.

"You got them to let you do it?" Kagome asked excitedly.

"Yes, dear. They looked over your records, and since you were an exemplary student before your trip down the well, they accepted. I have your books and schedule of work you will need to complete and turn in by the end of the school year," Mrs. Higurashi said, smiling at her daughter's excitement.

"Great! Well, I better start packing! Wait, I have nothing practical to wear!" Kagome yelled.

"Don't worry, dear, I found some more outfits like what you are wearing. I knew you wouldn't want to risk that outfit in the feudal era," Mrs. Higurashi said kindly.

"You're great! Thank you so much!" Kagome said and hugged her mom tightly.

"Everything is already packed, dear, so you can sit down and have dinner with us before you go," Ms. Higurashi suggested.

"What are we having?" Kagome asked.

"Your favorite," Ms. Higurashi said.

"What can't you do, Mom?" Kagome asked contentedly then ran into the house to be ready to eat.

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Kagome hugged her family goodbye and turned around. She had changed into a different set of clothing of the same design, with sapphire blue pants, a white shirt, and a sash tied around her waist that was the same color as her pants. Kagome had braided her hair into a French braid, not the most flattering look for her, but it was a very effective method of containing her hair. The pile of additional things to bring back with her was staggering, and Kagome decided that she would pop through to see if she could recruit Inuyasha to help before trying to get everything through the well at once. She wasn't sure if she would be able to carry everything while she was traveling, so she had included smaller bags that she could divide the load into. She was still trying to figure out how she was going to carry a naginata and her bow and quiver of arrows at the same time, but she would have to figure something out. For now, she just carried her sword through her sash, a dagger hidden in her pants, and her bow and arrows.

"I'll be back in a little while! I am going to try and find Inuyasha and see if I can get him to help," Kagome yelled over her shoulder. Souta watched as she disappeared down the well.

"Why does she get all the luck?" Souta questioned.

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Kagome climbed up the well and looked around. She froze as she noticed someone who was not supposed to be there.

"Get out," Sesshoumaru said.

"Why should I?" Kagome questioned.

"Don't try my patience," Sesshoumaru said.

"Fine, I'll do it! Don't get so huffy!" Kagome said, climbing out. After all, with Inuyasha not currently in the picture she should be safe. She stood in front of Sesshoumaru and asked, "What did you want?"

Sesshoumaru said simply, "Run."

End of Chapter Two

Okay, who caught my little clue before the beginning of the chapter? I would like to know about it, and if you didn't catch it and are utterly confused please refer to the bit before the beginning of the chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

Many thanks for all of the reviews. If it wasn't clear, whenever the chapter will crossover with Yu Yu Hakusho I will add Yu Yu Hakusho to the disclaimer.

Disclaimer: If you don't know that I don't own Inuyasha yet then you haven't been reading the disclaimers or even more likely the author's notes. Shame on you.

**Fire's Awakening**

_Chapter Three_

Kagome looked at Sesshoumaru as she tried to understand his meaning beyond the simple command of run. In a friend, she would consider it a joke or that the person in question was really mad at her, and in an enemy's case she would have expected something more elaborate, since Naraku and various other villains don't normally say simply, "Run." In Sesshoumaru's case, she was totally flummoxed.

"Why?" she asked, cocking her head to the side.

Sesshoumaru just looked at her, created his whip, and slashed at her. Kagome squeaked, fell to the ground, rolled, stood up, and drew her sword. Sesshoumaru raised his eyebrow.

"You can wield that?" Kagome wasn't sure if it was a question or a statement.

"Yes," Kagome said, "First time against a demon though."

"Very well," Sesshoumaru said and drew Tenseiga. Kagome's sword dropped in her hand.

"That thing can't even cut me," Kagome said, "I can't be that horrible."

"Unlikely," and Sesshoumaru charged. Kagome managed to block his sword, but he was a bit strong for her so she had to disengage and jump away. Soon a furious sword fight was going on, and Kagome was wondering where Inuyasha had gone. He wasn't deaf, was he, and he should have been able to hear what was going on.

So far, Kagome had been killed around, well, she had lost count. Tenseiga was swinging furiously and Kagome was growing tired. Never had she fought like this against such a physically stronger opponent, and even her great skill was no match for his centuries of experience. Kagome finally dropped to the ground and stared up at him. He stopped and looked down at her.

"You yield?" he asked.

"Yes, what do you want?" Kagome asked between her panting, aggravated.

"I want you to run," he repeated from earlier, and sheathed his sword and was soon chasing her away from the village and the well with his whip.

The only thing that saved Kagome from losing more pieces of her body then she already had was the fact she had a very finely tuned sense during a battle and was able to predict her opponent's moves. Of course, this was a version of her miko powers, but she didn't know that and so wasn't able to use it completely to her advantage. Her body, already worn from the sword fight, continued to loss energy at a dangerous rate, for while Kagome had gotten used to traveling long distances in the feudal era, she had never had to run this far before, and that after participating in a form of fighting that she had not kept up her abilities in. She was tired, sore, had flesh that felt like it was burning from overuse, and was about ready to yell, "I give up!" when suddenly Sesshoumaru disappeared. Kagome whirled around, praying, and he wasn't there. Kagome almost cheered.

Of course, once that brief celebration was over Kagome fell to the ground and did the best she could to try and hug it. "Forget the bed, I am just grateful for this chance to rest," she said gratefully. After a few minutes in which Kagome enjoyed being able to stop, she turned over.

"What on earth was that about?" Kagome asked, "Did I do something to make him angry? No, if that was the case he would have killed me. If he was Genkai I would say he was training, but he's Sesshoumaru! Why would he bother?"

These questions went unanswered as Kagome realized an earth-shattering fact.

"I'm hungry," Kagome said. Of course, food would require movement, cooking or preparing whatever food she could find would require movement, and taking care of tasks so that she could spend a safe night wherever she was would require movement. Was it really worth it? This mental deliberation took some time, but eventually she decided that if she wanted to get any sleep with at least some heat to survive the cool night then she would at least need a fire, and as long as she was doing that she might as well keep an eye out for any possible sources of food.

Kagome reluctantly rolled back onto her stomach and grudgingly managed to get back on her feet. She was exhausted, but she could still function. The first task was a fire, and so she gathered some pieces of wood that were luckily nearby along with some materials that should catch on fire quickly and arranged everything so that the bigger pieces did not choke of the smaller pieces air supply. Then she sat back and stared at it. She didn't have any matches. Nor did she have anything that would catch the sun, if there were any sunbeams to catch. It had suddenly become dark without her noticing, and now she was left to try and get everything done before the last little bit of light left the sky. She wouldn't have to resort to the old friction between the stick, would she?

Soon Kagome was rubbing two sticks together. Contrary to popular belief there was a better way to do so, one that was more likely to guarantee results. Sadly, Kagome was not aware of this method and some time later when she was having trouble seeing the sticks, she finally gave up. She was tired, cold, hungry, and she didn't even know why she was stuck here. Needless to say, Kagome wasn't happy. She glared at what could be seen of the pile of sticks, wishing she could incinerate it.

Normally, at this point the heroine would magically discover that she could start fires with her strange powers. Kagome smiled wryly. Of course, this wasn't one of those times. A wind started to blow and Kagome rubbed her bare arms. The temperature shouldn't be much below sixty-five right now, and it wouldn't be getting much colder, but the wind was making Kagome really shiver. The only thing left to do was either try to find a hot spring and soak in it for the rest of the night, or built a windbreak.

The hot spring was obviously the preferred solution, but the wind break was the more reliable one. Kagome had no idea of how she would go about finding a spring, especially one that was hot, and by the time she did find one she probably wouldn't be able to move. Deciding that the windbreak was the more viable option Kagome started breaking off low hanging branches of trees, making silent apologies to the tree as she tugged.

Soon she had built enough of a windbreak against the tree so that at least the wind wasn't that bad and she could get some rest. She curled up to save heat and stayed like that for some time. Questions she had asked earlier came back to her, and she tried to figure out what Sesshoumaru's purpose was.

If Sesshoumaru had actually wanted to kill her by now, he could have done so long ago. That had been made perfectly clear to her during the sword fight. He wouldn't have even needed to use any particular effort, so that wasn't his goal. That left only the idea of him trying to get her into shape. Did he want her to work for him as a miko? Use her against Naraku? To do, well, she really didn't know that much about Sesshoumaru, so she really had no idea of his motives. Where had he run off to anyways? He was probably sitting somewhere in front of a fire right now, warm, and if not happy, content. She shivered as a bit of wind made its way past the leaves and resisted trying to glare at something. He was cruel in his…whatever he was trying to do to her.

That brought her up short. Was this going to happen tomorrow? And the next day? How long would it go on? What about Inuyasha and the others, and her family? They didn't know where she was. Were they worried about her? She had told her mother that she would be coming back shortly for her supplies. Inuyasha knew she was supposed to come back today, and he was sure to try and check on her. They must know she was missing by now. Were they searching for her? Was her mom crying? Kagome was about to start panicking, worrying about the others when suddenly she froze. She sensed a jewel shard, and it was coming towards her. It wasn't too far away now. She scrambled up, destroying her structure as she grabbed for her sword. She desperately wished for her naginata, her best weapon, but she hadn't yet figured out how to carry both her bow and arrows and naginata at the same time.

Kagome tried to fill the sword with her powers. They didn't want to go into it. It was a foreign material, resistant to her touch and as she continued to try and light up her sword, it broke. She screeched as it fell in sharp shards to her feet, and hastily grabbed for her bow and arrows. She would have to worry about the fact that she might not be able to use her powers with other weapons later.

An arrow was soon sitting on her string, and the faint pink light gave her at least an idea of the trees around her. Rustling came from the side and Kagome whirled around. Nothing. From the other side another sound could be heard as the trees rustled, and Kagome turned around even more quickly and this time she sensed the jewel shard. She quickly shot towards the jewel shard location, praying that it would hit. A strangled scream came and Kagome gave a deep gasp of relief while she ran towards the bushes. She was knocked over in her rush and a strange demon that she could barely see straddled her. She could make out a patch of white where she thought he grinned, and as he leaned down to her—whether to eat her alive or do something even more unpleasant before eating her, Kagome didn't know—she panicked once more, sending out her purification powers into the demon's body. It fell into dust around her, and Kagome gave a strangled sob.

Kagome got up; wheezing a bit for her ribs had been a bit crushed, and hurried towards where she had tried to purify the other demon. Luckily, it had apparently been a lower level demon and it hadn't been able to fight her purification. However, Naraku's bees were watching her and one had swooped down to grab the jewel shard.

"No!" Kagome gasped and before she knew it another arrow had been loosed from her bow and the bee had followed the path of the two other demons. She ran forward and snatched up the jewel, looking defiantly into the swarm of bees before her.

"I won this one fair and square, Naraku! Leave before I purify more of your minions!" Kagome yelled. Strangely enough, the bees obeyed her, disappearing into the distance with their strange buzz. Kagome watched them, confused, and then sank to her knees, holding her ribs and almost crying in gratitude. She stayed like that for a moment, and finally managed to calm herself after her near death encounter. After she had managed to breathe in a normal pattern again, she was able to hear the light bubbling of what sounded like a spring. She wasn't sure whether she should hope for a cold or hot spring at this point. A cold spring would be a reliable source of drinking water, and besides the fact she had not eaten yet she was dreadfully thirsty. A hot spring, while not something she would likely be able to drink from, promised warmth and as the wind gave another howl she tried to hug herself, trying to keep her body heat from escaping into her surroundings. She stood up and cautiously made her way towards it, trying to walk quietly so that she wouldn't mask the sound. It was a hot spring, small, about the size of her bathtub, but she didn't care. She couldn't drink from it, but the heat was a welcome option compared to the windbreak and she got in with a relieved sigh. She looked around wearily, knowing that she could be attacked at any moment.

"I need to learn how to put up barriers like Kikyo," Kagome muttered with a hint of distaste. "But how on earth does she do it?"

"If you had training you would already know," said the voice of her previous incarnation. Kagome yelped, hid her breasts with her arms, and looked around until she caught sight of a patch of red and white.

"Kikyo?" Kagome asked.

"I am another woman, and our bodies are not dissimilar. There is no need for you to hide yourself," Kikyo commented. As she came closer Kagome was able to see that it was indeed Kikyo.

"I know," Kagome said, and put her arms back under water. She was still embarrassed though, for Kikyo had what Kagome called a stately type of beauty. Kagome had always considered herself close to average, and she disliked being reminded of the fact that Kikyo was a more beautiful version of herself, at least in her opinion.

"If you are attacked, are you going to try and hide yourself?" Kikyo asked critically. "Why are you so far from Inuyasha and your companions?"

"Oh, um," Kagome muttered, her embarrassment growing, "I'm not sure, you'll have to ask Sesshoumaru that."

Kikyo's eyebrow rose. "What are you doing with him?" she asked, her voice a mixture of amusement and slight disapproval.

Kagome's face blanched. "No, no, no!" Kagome said, waving her arms in front of her for emphasis. "He's just chasing me around Japan for exercise."

"Do you know his motives?" Kikyo asked, sitting on a nearby rock. Her manner was starting to relax, and it was making Kagome nervous. This was quite out of the ordinary compared to her usual encounters with Kikyo. Was she trying to be friendly? Was she feeling less threatened now that she was away from Inuyasha and with Sesshoumaru?

Kagome stared at Kikyo, wondering. Then she gave an inward shrug. If Kikyo was going to be nice then so was she.

"I have no real clue, and only a guess. I was just coming back from my era," and here Kagome gave Kikyo a nervous glance but she nodded for Kagome to continue, "and he was there. I didn't have everything with me, just myself and a few weapons, and he told me to run. I thought he was joking, but then he created his whip and slashed at me. I drew my sword, he drew Tenseiga, and we fought." Kagome blushed. "If it wasn't for the fact that Tenseiga cannot kill, I would have been dead many times over. It was really embarrassing; my father is probably turning in his grave right now."

Kikyo was staring at her. "Swordplay? I did not know you knew such skills."

Kagome blushed again. "It is a long story, but basically before I came here I had made a vow not to use my weapons training. It was lately pointed out to me that my vow wasn't quite valid, and this was to be my first time here with my weapons."

"Hm," was all Kikyo said.

"Anyways, I finally gave up. Then he told me to run again, and he chased me all the way here with his whip. My only possible guess, since he is so skilled that he could have killed me, is that he is training me. I don't know why, though," Kagome said.

"What about Inuyasha? Does he know of this?" Kikyo asked.

Kagome shook her head. "No. I think he was away when the fight happened and so doesn't know what happened to me. I'm worried about what he will think, personally. Mom knows that I came here, and when Inuyasha goes to check on me they will both be worried."

"What will you do? If Sesshoumaru truly does intend to train you, I doubt he will let you back for 'visits'," Kikyo said.

Kagome looked at the ground at Kikyo's feet. "I am not sure. If Sesshoumaru intends to train me, there is no better demon I can think of that will be more challenging for me to learn from. Inuyasha's sweet, but his methods are," and here Kagome paused, hating what she was about to say, "well, undisciplined." Before Kagome could continue Kikyo laughed, placing her delicate hand in front of her face. Kagome stared.

"Don't be so astonished, girl. I am glad that you are no longer looking at Inuyasha as if he is a perfect being," Kikyo said.

"I didn't mean," but Kagome couldn't think of anything to add to that, and she shook her head. "Anyways, if I learn from Sesshoumaru, it means that my chances of defeating Naraku and cleansing the jewel are heightened. Even though it means that I am separated from my friends, it is probably for the best."

Kikyo now gave Kagome a measuring stare. "You have grown, girl. Not long ago, all you were concerned with was hanging onto Inuyasha's every word." Kagome blushed again.

"It's not that, I just want to help. I can't help now, I'm really useless without others, and I want that to end! I want to help, not be helped!" Kagome said, frustration that had been growing for months finally breaking free.

"You are growing up, reincarnate," Kikyo paused then said slowly, "Kagome. What happens if you train, rejoin your friends, defeat Naraku and complete the purified jewel?"

Kagome paled, and looked at her hands. "I love it here. Everything feels realer, cleaner, not like in my time. I don't think I can stay here, though. I have been thinking about this, and as soon as the quest is finished, the well will probably be closed forever. As much as I love this time, it isn't mine. I don't belong to it, and I don't think I will be allowed to remain. I think," and here she hesitated then continued, "I think that I was brought back for this quest. I think as soon as it is finished, and Naraku is destroyed, then I am supposed to go home."

Kikyo looked at her. "You might be correct," she said after a moment's pause. "I admit, I believe that you were supposed to be in your time now, but it seems unlikely that the well brought you back just to reintroduce the jewel to this time. I will have to rethink things."

The two women were silent for some time. Eventually, Kagome worked up the courage to ask something she had never even dreamed of asking Kikyo before this night. "Why do you hate Inuyasha?"

Kikyo stared at her. "You have been truthful to me, I suppose I should return the courtesy," Kikyo said bitterly. "Inuyasha reminds me of my mistake. I knew I shouldn't have fallen in love with Inuyasha. It had been foretold that the day I fell in love was the day I started to lose my powers. I couldn't stop myself. Then the betrayal happened, and while I died I was able to die in peace, knowing that I had managed to fulfill my duties, a bittersweet peace. When I was brought back, I learned how weak the love I died for was. Can you imagine? The love that I had thought willing to risk everything for had been weak. It was easily broken. If it had been strong enough I wouldn't have believed Naraku's lie. My death was purposeless. The love I had for Inuyasha wasn't the all-consuming adoration I had thought it was. That fact burns in my heart every moment."

Kagome was silent. Kikyo's face was back to the lines she normally saw it in, lines twisted in hate. She thought about it, really thought about how Kikyo must have felt and how she felt now. She finally decided to talk. "I have often wondered what your life must have been like. I tried to imagine being brought up to not love anyone but to love everyone at the same time. I imagined how it must have built bitterness to watch the girls that you used to play with when you were younger get married and have families. I imagined how it must feel that the powers you were supposedly gifted with were in fact a curse, making you a 'special' being, separated from the rest of the village. I would shiver to myself, imagining growing up like that. Inuyasha must have seemed like a godsend, a chance to finally be a normal person. You fell in love with that idea and the chance Inuyasha represented, and when it was taken away from you your only thought was for revenge. The chance for normality was so close, and it was stolen."

Kikyo watched her, familiar feelings stirring in her breast. "I suppose you were right. It doesn't make me feel less bitter, though."

"It makes you human," Kagome said. "All humans have longings and desires, and all humans make mistakes. You spent so much time trying to fulfill your duties perfectly you never had the chance to really fail until that day."

"Do you hate me for staying here, feeding off of the souls of young women?" Kikyo asked, changing the topic to one only slightly less uncomfortable.

"I think I did, at first. I became rather bitter about it, in fact. When Inuyasha first met me, he mistook me for you. When he finally realized that I wasn't the priestess who had sealed him, he covered up by saying that he had been dumb to think it was me, that you were smarter and prettier. That really burned, you know? While Inuyasha's habit of comparing me to you has stopped verbally, every time I do something I wonder if he is thinking about how you would have done it. I spent a lot of time, now that I think of it, trying to be your opposite. I wasted so much time on that, not even doing it consciously. Even Miroku and  
Sango have occasionally commented on how my powers come from the fact that I am your reincarnation. I think my bitterness was because you were first, and so anything I did would always be compared to your accomplishments. The fact that you continue to live, I have learned not to be bothered by it. My opinion was that you are just trying to regain some of the time you lost when Naraku tricked you," Kagome said.

Kikyo gave her bitter laugh again. "So we have hated each other because we each saw the other as having something we could never have. How ironic."

"I don't hate you anymore. I still would like an explanation as to why there isn't still a shard around my neck that constituted about half of the Shikon no Tama, but I don't hate you," Kagome said.

Kikyo looked at her. "My reasoning was complicated, and I was even bitterer then than I am now. I am not sure if I would still have taken that course of action."

"I guess that is good enough," Kagome said. "Now what?"

"You truly intend to accept Sesshoumaru's unspoken gift of training, even if it means that you might not see your friends or family for quite some time?" Kikyo asked, sitting even straighter than she had before.

"Yes. I still think it is the best option for increasing my abilities," Kagome said, though a hint of sorrow was in her voice. She would miss everyone dearly.

"Then I shall train you at night. Sesshoumaru seems content to chase you around during the day, and your nights I shall teach you, among other things, how to create a barrier like mine," Kikyo said, giving a smile that was less bitter than any other she had this night.

Kagome smiled at her then groaned. "Why do I have the feeling that these upcoming months are going to be hell?" she questioned.

"It is the truth. Your time is short compared to the years I had with my mistress. With weapons you at least have apparently had some experience, but you will be starting from the beginning with me," Kikyo said. Kagome sank deeper into the hot spring, dreading her upcoming months.

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The next day Kikyo went to meet with Inuyasha. She did not tell Kagome of this, but Kikyo did not want Inuyasha searching for her and possibly breaking her focus. She also felt a twinge of pity for Kagome's family, continually allowing her to travel to a world into which they couldn't enter, and finding out that she was missing. However, she tried to concern herself with the practicalities, and now that Kagome was separated from Inuyasha, the animosity that sprung up every time she looked at Kagome was dying. Even though she knew her love hadn't been as true as she wished, she was jealous of Kagome's ability to make Inuyasha trust. Without her feelings clouded by that jealousy, she was starting to appreciate Kagome's mind and personality. She didn't acknowledge this in the deepest parts of her conscious mind, but her heart was starting to recognize that Kagome might be someone she could actually count as a friend, an equal. That was something that had never happened to her, and so her subconscious was encouraging the feelings that were starting to grow in her heart, a beginning to the end of her bitterness.

However, now the important thing was that she needed to talk to Inuyasha, and so she sent her paper demons out, her shikigami. She had no doubt that Inuyasha would follow them, especially as she might have a clue to what happened to Kagome. She was right, and soon the ones she sent out had returned around her and twined about her form as Inuyasha came dashing through the woods.

"Kikyo," he said, stopping in his tracks.

"Inuyasha," she said in her voice, the tone dead. She really hated the memories that sprang up when she looked at Inuyasha.

"Why did you summon me?" Inuyasha asked. Kikyo's eyebrow rose at his arrogance. He seemed to think that her shikigami had no other purpose, despite the fact that this time their duty had been just that.

"How easily you assume that it was you I wished to communicate with. No matter, I wished to talk to you about my reincarnation," Kikyo said. She knew that would draw his attention.

"Kagome? Do you know where she is? She went missing and—" Inuyasha started to talk very quickly, and Kikyo held up her hand and interrupted.

"She is safe, for now. I have come to tell you not to seek her; she doesn't wish to be interrupted right now," Kikyo said. This was a bit of a stretch in her story, but she knew that Kagome would reluctantly agree that if Inuyasha knew what Kagome had agreed to do, he would interfere. Her reasons would make him furious, but Inuyasha was more about blunt force rather then skill and being a human Kagome needed to learn skill.

"What are you talking about? Kagome wouldn't say something like that!" Inuyasha said, seeming to grow suspicious. Kikyo absently wondered why it had taken so long; many of their previous encounters had been questionable since she had been brought back, and yet Inuyasha continued to believe in her. She felt a twinge of both annoyance and softness; the annoyance from the fact that she wanted to distance herself from him and the softness because he was still so pure and devoted. That fact amused, confused, angered, and saddened her. He refused to let go of the past, which was what Kikyo was trying to learn how to do. And she was the one who was currently dead, which made that fact even more pitiful.

"Inuyasha, I do not lie. Continue to search for Naraku and jewel shards; my reincarnate will be returned eventually," Kikyo turned to go. Inuyasha grabbed her shoulder and turned her back around. Kikyo's eyes narrowed.

"That is ridiculous! 'Eventually'? What crap is that?" Inuyasha growled. Kikyo reached up, grabbed Inuyasha's hand, and threw it off of her, her face disgusted.

"Inuyasha, I tell the truth. Kagome is doing what is wise, and you should accept that fact and move on," Kikyo said in a harsh voice. She wanted to leave. She didn't want to deal with this part of her past anymore.

Inuyasha blinked in shock. "You called her Kagome?" he said. His tone conveyed disbelief.

"What matter is it to you? I have come to tell you that she is safe, that you shouldn't seek her, and to make sure that her family does not hold a ceremony mourning her death. I shall go now," and her shikigami twirled around, lifting her up in the air.

"I don't understand!" Inuyasha cried after her.

Kikyo turned her face. "You never do," she whispered to herself.

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Kagome groaned as she felt herself being sliced through. She opened her eyes to see Sesshoumaru standing over her and shrieked. After some lessons with Kikyo, discussing some of the basics and laying the groundwork for the next few days, she had fallen asleep in the hot spring. Now, it was apparently dawn, and Sesshoumaru was standing over her, glaring, and she was naked. Kagome quickly copied her movement from last night and covered her breasts.

"Don't be ridiculous," Sesshoumaru said in his cold tone. "Stand up. What happened to your sword?"

Kagome burrowed herself deeper into the water and glared up at him. Sesshoumaru reached down, grabbed a good fistful of Kagome's hair, and pulled up. As Kagome screeched in pain as she clawed at Sesshoumaru's hand while she dangled in midair in front of Sesshoumaru. He waited a moment just to prove that her pitiful human claws had no effect then dropped her to the ground.

"Get dressed. Be glad I am allowing you that much. You should be awake and prepared by dawn," Sesshoumaru said. Kagome brought up her knees to cover her chest as she stroked her aching head, a few tears managing to escape from her eyes. She glared up at him.

"Turn around," she said. He didn't move. "Turn around!" she said more forcefully.

"Do not presume that I care what you look like," he said.

"That's fine! My pride cares that someone else of the opposite sex has seen me, and I don't wish to dress in front of a man whether he cares or not!" Kagome said forcefully. In truth, it was a little embarrassing that her body had no effect on Sesshoumaru, damaging her female pride, but on the other hand he was a demon that could care less about humans. At least she knew it wasn't just her.

Sesshoumaru looked at her for a moment, and then turned around. Kagome had almost started to believe that they would remain there forever, her waiting for him to turn around and him standing there, but as soon as his back was turned she seized the chance and scrambled into her clothes. As soon as the sounds stopped he turned back around.

"What happened to your sword?" he questioned again. Kagome blushed.

"Um, some demons attacked and I tried to power my sword to purify them, but it didn't exactly work," Kagome said. Her face was still a light shade of red. What kind of swordswoman blows up her sword?

"What happened to it?" his voice was still dry.

"It crumbled into shards at my feet. I suppose I should be grateful that it didn't explode," Kagome said, still mortified.

"Is there any other weapon you are capable of using, other than a bow?" he questioned. Kagome was starting to hate how his voice rarely changed in inflection.

"My best weapon is a naginata," she said.

"Why don't you have one?" was his next, and perhaps foreseeable, question.

"I hadn't yet figured out how to carry my bow and arrows along with my naginata and be able to use them at a moments notice with out getting them tangled, and since I can wield a sword, I was at the time armed with bow and arrows," Kagome said.

"One of the demons you destroyed had a sheathed sword," Sesshoumaru said. Kagome's mouth opened then closed, and she quietly went off and obtained the sword. It was a different shape then her old one, with a curved angle that she wasn't quite used to but it had a good balance. Then she and Sesshoumaru, well, Kagome didn't want to say sparred because it felt more like a slaughter to her, and then Sesshoumaru once more told her to run, and once more chased her. She wasn't quite sure if there was a point other than building up her endurance, but she kept silent. They ended a bit before dark, and this time Kagome had time to gather a few herbs that she noticed, and worked up the courage to kill a rabbit. She really hated to do it, and she winced as she skinned it and prepared to cook it, remembering its sweet eyes, but after over a day and a half of going hungry she needed the food. She was also able to find a stream nearby along with some vegetables, and her stomach was finally satisfied.

By now Kagome was really wishing she had some equipment with her. She had eventually been able to start a fire, having more time to rub the sticks together, but it had been a lengthy process and took more time then she would have wished. Her next order of business was building another place to sleep, since she hadn't been able to find a hot spring. She had decided to rest for a bit before Kikyo would probably show up when she was once more attacked. These demons had no jewel shards, and were rather large, but dumb, demons. She had been scared, but then one of the demons had gleefully stamped out her fire, and her rage was kindled. She had worked a great deal on the fire. It had been keeping her warm. The demons who would have been yelling for her to give up the jewel shard started to feel a bit nervous as her aura flamed.

"You killed my fire! Do you know how much time I spent trying to get that thing to start!" Kagome yelled. However, the lure of jewel shards was great, and they started to attack. There were five of them, and Kagome only managed to kill two before her enemies were in too close of a range to be destroyed with her arrows. She brought out her sword, and since it had been a demon's sword it was able to slice through demons with only some extra pressure, though their height made the battle difficult. It was a hard battle, one that Kagome came out of covered in both the demons' and her blood, but she had eventually been victorious. She looked around her, wanting to gag. She had only used her powers before on demons, and the cut up pieces around her sickened her now that the battle for her life was over. She found her self resisting the urge to throw up, and she stumbled away quickly from the bloody scene.

Soon Kagome was at the river, scrubbing herself with cold water even though the night was already cool. She still felt the blood all over her, and wanted it off. She felt like Lady Macbeth from Shakespeare, which she had studied in school during English.

"Out, damn spot," Kagome muttered, half joking, half disgusted and serious.

"You had a rather bloody battle," Kikyo commented as the last bits of water that was colored red slowly washed downstream.

"I managed to purify two before they were so close to me I couldn't use my arrows. There were three left at that point," Kagome said bitterly.

"Were you wounded?" Kikyo asked, coming closer.

"I have a few cuts, but I managed to survive," Kagome said.

"Have you bandaged them yet?" Kikyo asked, kneeling down.

"No. I was about to start tearing my clothing for bandages when you came," Kagome said. She was starting to recover from the bloody scene she had just left, though she wasn't sure if that memory would ever leave her.

"Why didn't you send your energy into your sword to avoid blood?" Kikyo asked, pulling supplies out from a bag that Kagome hadn't noticed and starting to bind a cut on her upper arm, the most obvious one that wasn't hidden by her clothes.

"The last sword I had fell to pieces at my feet when I tried to do that, and I haven't been able to consciously send out my energy without some weapon in my hands yet," Kagome said. Silence fell and Kikyo moved to Kagome's chest where a cut that had been previously hidden from her bleed sluggishly. Soon Kagome's entire chest was wrapped, and Kikyo started on her legs. Eventually Kikyo found and dealt with every hurt, having applied herbs and bindings, and sat back.

"If you have to continually deal with demons at close range you need to find a way to send your energy into the sword or whatever other weapon you were using," Kikyo said.

"I know that, but I don't know why it didn't work!" Kagome said.

"Have your weapons been blessed? Weapons that have been tainted by profane hands cannot always handle the purification energies of a priestess," Kikyo stated.

"Oh," Kagome said, "maybe you better teach me that first."

"Maybe," Kikyo said her voice full of dry humor. That was indeed the first lesson of the night, and the rest of the night was spent practicing how much energy to put into the weapon so that extra was not wasted. By the end of the lesson Kagome was tired and Kikyo was thoughtful.

"Can you sense a demon's power yet?" she asked.

"Not very well. I can sense the power, but I can only tell the difference if it is really weak or strong," Kagome admitted.

"That shall be our next lesson. I have brought you a blanket and a fire starting kit, since you told me that you were caught unprepared," Kikyo said, "I might obtain some proper clothing for a priestess, since yours is obviously cut up."

Kagome hesitated before answering, "Thank you very much for the blanket and fire starting kit. I was worried about the cold in the air, and trying to start a fire with two sticks is time consuming. But the clothing of a priestess, well, it has too much cloth to impede movement."

Kikyo looked at her thoughtfully. "As you are not limiting yourself to arrows and your powers that is indeed a relevant point. But a priestess should always be available to ask for aid, and if you are not recognizable as such then people won't know to ask for it. Maybe if the pants and top fit more tightly?"

Kagome nodded in gratitude. "I hate being a bother," she said, "but it is hard to move with all of that stiff cloth. I have wondered how you do it."

Kikyo laughed a bit. "Practice, my dear. And while I do indeed have to dodge sometimes, normally my movements are confined to firing arrows."

Kagome watched her laugh, a strange expression on her face. "This entire situation seems a bit surreal to me," she admitted.

"I had not expected to be training my reincarnation either," Kikyo said. "Now, I must leave. You need rest before tomorrow."

"Don't remind me," Kagome said. "He woke me up in the hot springs!"

"I suggest if you want to keep that type of situation from happening again you sleep clothed or wake up before he does that service. Now, though, that you have a blanket you will not be sacrificing your dignity when he awakens you," Kikyo said.

"True. Thank you again, I was really worrying about that," Kagome said. Kikyo nodded at her and left, leaving Kagome to curl up in her new, rather warm blanket and sleep until her next abrupt awakening the next day.

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The next day passed quickly and Kagome was left to once more set up camp. That night before Kikyo came for lessons Kagome was attacked by a group of seven demons demanding the jewel shards. While she did gain about three jewel shards, she was starting to grow suspicious. The next night two groups of demons attacked, one from Naraku and one a local group, and Kagome's suspicions were confirmed.

"He's deliberately leading me near trouble spots!" Kagome yelled the next night after the third attack of demons. Kikyo stepped out of the woods behind her.

"It is good practice," Kikyo said as she handed Kagome the modified priestess uniform.

"Oh, thank you! Wearing this, especially after all the damage that has been done to it, will be heavenly!" Kagome hugged the clothing to her and then undressed and dressed quickly. It looked quite similar to Kikyo's garb, except that the pants did not have as many folds and the shirt sleeves were not as wide.

"Let me tie your hair for you," Kikyo said. Kagome nodded and stood in front of Kikyo as she did that service for her.

"I used to do this for Keade when she was younger," Kikyo said regretfully.

"What was she like, back then?" Kagome asked, trying to be careful to not bring Kikyo back into her loop of hate.

Kikyo sighed then spoke, "Keade was a truly sweet child. She adored me and was always eager to learn more about being a priestess. I indulged her, since she did have a minor ability, but at the same time I hated doing so. I knew that if anything ever happened to me, she would have to take over as priestess for the village and would be faced with my fate. It is hard seeing her fifty years later, an old woman with no children. I wonder if I had not died if that would have been my fate, living alone with no children or grandchildren to comfort me in my old age."

"I don't think she is that unhappy," Kagome suggested.

"Perhaps. She seems to have few regrets," Kikyo said, stepping back and looking at her.

"The resemblance is uncanny," Kikyo whispered, having never seen her before dressed like her.

"I know," Kagome said, embarrassed. "The one time I dressed in a miko's outfit with my hair like this he told me to get undressed. I wasn't amused."

"Inuyasha does have a rather blunt way of speaking," Kikyo sighed. "He still seems determined to grace me with his presence anytime he knows I'm near."

"He wants to help," Kagome said.

"He doesn't know what I want, and so he cannot help me," Kikyo said, her manner turning cold.

"Peace?" Kagome said after a moment of tenseness. Kikyo's stiff form relaxed, and she nodded slightly.

"I just want peace," Kikyo's voice was low and full of longing. "I want to discover myself, to know what it is like to be normal."

"But you can't. Not as long as Naraku is alive, and then you will still have your duties as a priestess," Kagome said.

"No, I can't. I will not allow myself to be destroyed again by him. Maybe once he dies; then I can seek my peace," Kikyo's voice was cold.

"You are going to go back to—" Kagome couldn't finish the sentence.

"I am not sure. Let us return to your training. You need to work on your abilities to sense other beings," Kikyo instructed. Kagome did so, but that night, after Kikyo left, she pondered about the things she was learning about Kikyo, and what they meant.

End Chapter Three

My apologies to those who despise Kikyo. Kikyo does have training as a priestess that she could teach Kagome, and I do empathize with her a bit. Kagome is still my favorite, don't worry!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho.

**Fire's Awakening**

_Chapter Four_

The next morning Kagome woke up. It was still dark, and she looked around blearily. Then she realized that she had managed to wake up before Sesshoumaru could do that service for her, and she jumped up triumphantly.

"Breakfast!" Kagome shouted and quickly gathered a few leftovers from last night. A grin was still on her face as she waited for Sesshoumaru to show up. Then she remembered what Kikyo had distracted her from last night.

"Sesshoumaru's been leading me into attacks deliberately! What am I, his personal demon exterminator?" Kagome asked. Suddenly an image of her dressed in a one piece baggy white suit that bug exterminators were normally dressed in appeared in her mind, in front of a white van that had a picture of her grandfather leaping at a small demon, ofuda in hand. The name above the picture was Higurashi's Exterminating Service, with the logo, "No demons will live to see another sunset!"

Kagome groaned and slapped her head. How lame! The sad thing was, she could imagine her grandfather trying to start something like that. Now that she had that information, though, what was she going to do? She could confront him, but she didn't think he would really care. She could continue traveling after he left, but that meant that the demons would go on and try and kill someone else. She sighed. She'll let it continue, but only because she didn't want anyone else getting hurt!

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Kagome looked behind her. The training today was particularly intense, and she was growing nervous. She looked back to the front and suddenly saw a large tree with large bushes on both sides, and a slash from the whip aimed for her middle. Kagome blacked out, and the next thing she knew she was way too high in the air, clinging to the tree as she stood on a broad branch. She looked down, saw the ground far away, and clung tighter.

"I'm gonna die," she whimpered, closing her eyes. Kagome felt a hand on her shoulder and she looked up to see Sesshoumaru. Even though that comforting gesture was the last thing she expected from him, her eyes started to fill with relief at deliverance just before he pushed her off the branch.

Kagome fell with a scream. The next major branch on the tree was coming closer and closer. Kagome gave up any hope to live through this, and once more closed her eyes. Her last thought before she hit was that she was going to haunt Sesshoumaru for the rest of his life.

Kagome hit the branch feet first, and instead of her legs crumpling into a broken mash, she fell into a crouch and rebounded. Kagome opened her eyes.

"What on earth?" Kagome muttered. She was traveling slanted through the air like Inuyasha. If she wasn't so terrified that she was about to die, she might be enjoying this. However, another branch, this time on a different tree, was coming closer and the only thing she could do was put her feet down towards the branch and hope.

This continued until Kagome gradually made it lower and lower, and her speed decreased, and she was able to fall to the earth, rolling to lessen the impact. She lay on her stomach, and praised the earth in her mind. It was so solid, so reliable. She would never take its presence for granted again.

"Get up," said Sesshoumaru's voice.

"I am going to stay here, thank you," was Kagome's muffled reply.

"Unacceptable," was Sesshoumaru's reply.

"I am going to stay right here where it is safe," Kagome muttered, knowing that Sesshoumaru would be able to catch her voice.

Kagome waited for Sesshoumaru to say something, but all that could be heard was silence. Then, a cutting sound made its way through the air and Kagome yelped as Tensaiga sliced her in half.

"Stand," Sesshoumaru said. It went unsaid that the next attack would not come from the sword which could not cut flesh. Kagome grumbled and stood gingerly. Her legs shook, and she grabbed the nearest tree for comfort.

"I don't know how you and Inuyasha do that all the time! It's terrifying!" Kagome said. Sesshoumaru looked up and down her trembling figure and said nothing.

"Don't tell me I am going to have to do that again!" Kagome protested.

"It isn't needed. You know. Demons and humans use their particular type of energy not only for attacks and defense measures but to support the body so that it can do things it normally can't and to reinforce attacks. You have been using this ability to a small degree, but now you have finally accessed that ability. Now you will continue to practice it," Sesshoumaru stated.

"You mean jumping higher and giving my attacks more force?" Kagome asked. Her trembling was decreasing as her interest and mind was diverted from the rather startling experience she had had just minutes ago.

"Exactly. Try jumping once more," Sesshoumaru commanded.

"Okay," Kagome commented, and thinking of what Kikyo had been teaching her at night, concentrated on drawing her energy throughout her body. The way Kagome pictured it was that the power flew through her veins, strengthening her body as it went. Kagome closed her eyes and jumped. She soon landed, as she had only jumped about three feet in the air.

"Again," Sesshoumaru said.

Kagome thought hard about what she needed her powers to do for her and concentrated as hard as she could on strengthening each and every muscle, increasing its elasticity. Then she jumped straight up into the air.

Kagome flew into the air. The sights she could see were amazing. She made it about twenty feet in the air, and as she relished the flight, soon she was falling. Kagome managed to stop her natural reaction to flail in the air and tried to position her body as she had seen Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru, and even Sango. She managed to land safely, though the force was great enough to push her back onto her backside.

"I'm going to be incorporating that into my fighting now, won't I?" Kagome asked in a half-wistful, half-nervous voice. Sesshoumaru simply nodded, and now that Kagome had discovered what Sesshoumaru wished for her to learn, more of the day was spent simply practicing fighting using increased strength, flexibility, and whatever being able to jump yards into the air was called. By the end of the training session Kagome was sore and exhausted, and Sesshoumaru left her telling her she needed to walk for a little over two and a half hours to the northwest.

"In other words, so that I will be in position for whatever local riffraff is hanging around," Kagome said bleakly. Sesshoumaru didn't comment, and Kagome trudged off, hoping to find dinner along the way.

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That night Kagome told Kikyo of what had happened. Kikyo hadn't known that it was possible for priestesses to manipulate their powers so, but recognized what an aid to fighting demons it would be.

"Are you going to try and learn how to do so?" Kagome asked, smiling mischievously.

Kikyo just stared at her blankly.

"I guess that's a no," Kagome said, a bit more subdued. Kikyo was rather good at unnervingly blank stares.

"As you have had a strenuous day, we shall concentrate on shielding today. While you will have to concentrate, it will not involve a great deal of movement," Kikyo declared, and so it was. By the end of that training session Kagome had managed a faint flicker of light around her that Kikyo declared was quite incapable of even keeping out flies. Kagome muttered under her breath at that comment to prevent a louder, cruder response.

Soon Kikyo left, and Kagome was left on the forest floor, staring into the fire. What were Inuyasha and the others doing right now? Her heart gave a twinge. In a way, she had promised Miroku she would be there for him when they had further defined their relationship into one of brother and sister. She had promised Inuyasha she would stay with him. Sango was still angry with her, and Shippo? Shippo was probably missing her terribly. And that didn't even cover what her modern day family was feeling. The darkness closed in on her, and Kagome wiped away a couple of tears.

"I'm doing this for them," she whispered. For some reason, though, the darkness in her heart only grew, and she slowly fell asleep as feeling of loneliness and self-blame assaulted her.

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The next few days passed quickly as Kagome finally started to get a hang of aerial battle and finally managed to create a shield that could do the incredible task of shielding a pebble from certain death. As Kagome walked along the river that afternoon, heading for her next campsite, she basked in her feelings of accomplishment as she wondered what her family and what Inuyasha and the others were doing. It was weird to be away for this long, and Kagome hoped that everyone was doing all right.

Kagome was disturbed about how the time away from the others was changing her. She was returning to her mentality before her father died, in which she was self-sufficient and while she still cared for the others, she wasn't sure to how they would react once they were reunited. Previously, a great deal of her attraction to Inuyasha came from how he was always willing to protect her. Previously, even with her weapons, she would have accomplished little. Now, however, as she gained experience under Sesshoumaru's whatever it was, she would be able to protect herself. When she returned, would her feelings for Inuyasha be the same? Would Sango be able to adjust to a friend that before had provided innocence to one that provided more comradeship? Kagome trusted that Miroku would able to adjust to the new her, as he had encouraged her to take a stand once more, but would he forgive her for leaving like that? And poor Shippo, she had left him abandoned, and at the mercy of Inuyasha. Kagome had to again remind herself of why she left.

"If I had stayed there, they wouldn't have been able to devote the time I need to just training. It also gives them a break from demon attacks, and a chance for some peace," Kagome told herself sternly, "I would only have made them larger targets."

Kagome would have continued, but her thoughts were interrupted as she tripped over something lying on the ground by the river.

"Ouch!" Kagome muttered as she rolled back onto her back, "tha," and Kagome paused, horrified. A woman was lying on the ground, bleeding sluggishly from different wounds on her body and looking quite close to death.

"Oh my god!" Kagome said, and scrambled forward, putting her hand on the forehead of the woman whose unblinking eye stared up at the sky, for her other was a bloody mess.

"Leave me be," came a voice, one that might have been pleasant if its owner was not so close to death.

"You're conscious?" Kagome asked, her eyes worried.

"It doesn't matter. Leave me," the woman commanded.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that," Kagome said, "You can still be saved!" Kagome rummaged around in her pack, which was actually her blanket wrapped around her few possessions, including some herbs and bandages that Kikyo had brought her.

"I don't want salvation," the woman said. She sounded close to unconsciousness.

Kagome stopped her frantic searching, and looked at her. "You wish to give up? It seems pretty pointless, when you have evidently struggled to stay alive until now," Kagome said as she knelt by the woman's side, staring down into her remaining eye. Kagome was referring to the fact that she was still conscious even though she had fallen off a rather high cliff, but she didn't realize how true that statement was in regards to this woman.

The woman closed her eye as she shuddered in pain. "Do as you wish," the woman relented, "but why do you wish to aid me?" the woman asked. Kagome smiled then started bandaging the woman's wounds.

"I'm not sure," Kagome said as she finished bandaging the woman's head, "if I see someone hurt, I help. You have as much right to salvation as anyone."

A hoarse chuckle came out of her mouth, "I do, do I? What an odd concept, salvation. What is it, anyways?"

Kagome smiled a bit, "I guess I haven't thought about it much, but I think I would define it as being at peace with who you are. I haven't quite made it there myself, but I try."

"I," but the woman shuddered and finally succumbed to the pain and fainted.

Kagome felt that it was kinder for her to be unconscious, considering the pain that must be raking her body. Kagome continued to bandage the woman, her thoughts engrossed in the task. She knelt, looking at the wounds. She seemed to be missing flesh from different areas of her body; though mainly on the right side of her head and arm, but the rest of that side, and her entire body from the fall, seemed to be in bad shape.

"Inuyasha would yell at me if he knew what I was about to do," Kagome said to the woman, "that almost would be a recommendation to do so, in some cases. Oh well, here I go." Kagome knew that the woman would mostly likely die if she didn't somehow speed up the healing process, but she was not a natural healer like some were, including Kikyo. She had been disappointed to know this, but there was something else she could do.

Kagome readied herself. Kikyo had mentioned this, but had said only to use this method if the patient was going to die and there was no other way to save the person. Considering this woman's condition, it was. Kagome put her hands on the woman's chest, closed her eyes, and started to feed the woman some of her life force. The energy was sluggish at first, but started to pour more and more quickly into the broken body beneath her. The body eagerly accepted it, for while one was a demon and one was a human, life energies did not depend on things like species, but rather the compatibility of the souls. Kagome's was compatible with many, along with being strong, so the energy was quickly taken in and used to encourage the growth of different cells that had been destroyed. Kagome barely managed to stop the process before it all drained away, and Kagome fell over the woman's chest, joining her in the bliss that is unconsciousness.

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Kagome stirred as she woke up. There was a strange surface beneath her and as she sat up she was surprised to see a woman. What was she doing on a woman? She blushed slightly and scrambled off, kneeling at the woman's side. Her memories returned as she stared at the bandaged woman, and she shuddered for a moment as she remembered the way that the woman's soul had sucked desperately at her life energy. Kagome knew the woman had been unconscious, but while the woman's will to stay alive had been weak, her soul's determination to stay alive was quite strong.

Kagome stood up and stretched, scrubbing her eyes and trying to rid herself of her stiffness. She looked around her, noting that she was alone even though it was at the least late morning. She shrugged off the fact that not only had Kikyo failed to appear last night (she would not have left Kagome in such an awkward position) but Sesshoumaru was not here either. She wasn't sure, but she thought that he would at least kick her awake or something.

"I guess I'll never understand those two," Kagome said as she knelt down and felt the woman's forehead. She didn't have a fever, which was good. Now, it was time to check the rest of the woman's wounds.

Kagome was surprised to find that all of the wounds had become lesser versions of themselves. She would still scar, Kagome suspected, but most likely her left side would look okay with only a few faint scars. Her right, on the other hand, had a high possibility of being a mass of scars, though now, instead of being a twisted and misshapen mass, it was simply a major patchwork system. Now that Kagome thought about it, she wondered why most of her wounds were on one side. If someone fell down a cliff, shouldn't both sides be equally damaged? Kagome didn't want the left side to look like the right, but it would have made more sense if both sides looked the same.

Kagome shook her head. It really wasn't any of her business, though she would always be ready to offer a willing ear.

"I guess I need to start breakfast," Kagome said, as her stomach complained. It had been bad enough getting used to only two meals a day, with little to no carbohydrates unless Kikyo brought a bit of bread for her, but having missed dinner yesterday her stomach was complaining. Loudly. Kagome looked around, caught up her bow and arrows, and started to walk away. She hesitated, turning around for one last look. She thought for a moment, shrugged, and concentrated for a moment. A shield sprang up around the woman, one that wobbled a little but would at least give a bit of protection, along with a warning if it was breached. Kagome wavered to the side for a moment, her weakness being compounded by hunger and a dangerously low amount of life energy, but she managed to stand moderately straight again and left.

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The woman fought for awareness. She dreaded awakening, but she was ready to do whatever necessary. She was Mukuro, and she yielded to no one. She would fight whoever threatened her and would die on her own terms, nobody else's! She held back a wince as she opened her eye, disorientated from missing the other.

Mukuro opened her senses. She felt better then she had thought she would, and then she remembered the voice of a woman, and a blurry image. Strands from their short conversation twined their way back into her memory. Who was that woman? She tried to sit up, but fell back, biting her lip.

"You're awake!" said the voice. Mukuro recognized the voice.

"Yes," Mukuro answered. She wasn't sure what was happening. What did this woman want from her? Everyone wanted something, but what did she want? Mukuro was free now, and wished that she had a state of health that meshed with that freedom so she could leave and just be alone.

"Do you need to sit up? There is a rock I can prop you on," and before Mukuro could say a word gentle hands helped her lean against what Mukuro was clearly able to identify as a rock, with the odd outcropping digging into her wounds. Mukuro had a hard time concealing her wince as she glanced around at her surroundings. They were by a river and along the beach rocks filled the sand. Here and there boulders seemed to have sprouted out of the sand, and Mukuro was suddenly grateful that she had landed on a relatively sandy spot. She looked up at the cliff a few meters from her and shuddered.

"That can't be comfortable, here, let's try my blanket," the woman suggested. She was bustling around Mukuro in a manner that was rather hard to follow with her still partly-dazed mind and one eye, especially as she wasn't quite used having only one eye yet. Soon she felt a bit of padding come between her and the rock, and the relief provided Mukuro with a chance to get her bearings.

The woman finally stopped moving as she grabbed something off of a nearby rock. She held it out to her, and Mukuro looked down at the piece of cooked meat with surprise. She looked up at the woman, finally able to get a good look at her.

It was a human woman, which surprised her slightly. Was the woman insane, to be treating a demon? Granted, she was injured, but she would heal. Was not the woman afraid of her? Her appearance suggested that she had once had a delicate beauty, but her hair was pulled back tightly from her face, refusing to soften the lines except for a few strands that escaped from the tie's grasp. Her eyes were a surprising blue, but her skin was tanned and seemed a bit rough from overexposure to sun. Her face had a gentle bone structure, but it seemed lean, as if the extra flesh had left, leaving only muscles and barely any fat to cover it. Her body seemed to follow that pattern, from what she could see from her outfit of red pants and white shirt. Mukuro was sure that there was something that it should remind her off, something she had heard, but she shook it off mentally and returned to her scrutiny. The clothing itself looked worn, as if it had been mended multiple times. She did not look like a prosperous woman, but then she did not look like a peasant either. She looked almost like someone who could fight, but women, human women, were either kept tightly in the home or worked out in the fields along with the men.

The woman's smile had been faltering slightly, and Mukuro stopped. This woman was curious indeed. She looked lean and hardened by the elements, but even nature's harsh treatment had failed to completely mask the woman's beauty, indeed, it had almost given her a rougher one instead. Mukuro almost felt sorry for her. If her old master could see her, he would attempt to gain possession of her instantly.

"Who are you?" Mukuro asked finally.

"Oh, was that the problem?" the woman asked, brightening up slightly as if she had been worried about something, "I thought you didn't want the meat. It might not be the most flavorful thing in the world to eat, but it will fill your stomach. I'm sorry I don't have much else to offer you, but I've been pretty much living off of the land for the past few weeks."

Mukuro thought that was obvious, but the woman seemed concerned that she eat, so Mukuro reached out her left hand and took the meat. It didn't taste horrible, but then it didn't taste very good either. Mukuro brushed it off since the woman was human and probably liked things over-cooked. The meat wasn't too tough and Mukuro continued to chew thoughtfully. If the person that had aided her had been a demon, or a male, she would have tried to get away immediately, but a human female, even one that had apparently been living on her own, did not feel like a threat to Mukuro. Mukuro shot a questioning glance at the woman, trying to prompt the woman to answer her previous question.

The woman seemed oblivious, but she answered Mukuro anyways. "I'm Kagome. I'm glad you're awake, I've been wondering when you would wake up."

Mukuro chewed for a moment, swallowed, and then said, "Why did you help me?"

"I told you earlier, but I guess that is probably a bit foggy. I wanted to," the woman, who Mukuro now knew was Kagome, said, shrugging. Mukuro raised her eyebrows, inwardly wincing at the pain that small action caused.

"You voluntarily wished to aid a demon woman?" she asked.

"Yes," Kagome answered.

"But why?" Mukuro persisted. She didn't understand.

"You aren't going to accept a simple answer, are you? I guess the better question would be, 'Why did I want to?'" Kagome said.

Mukuro nodded, her neck sending twinges of pain along with the rest of her body, but she concentrated on chewing the meat, and listening for the woman's, Kagome's, response.

"I don't know. I like it when I help people. It makes me feel good inside. You know," Kagome said, staring at the river they camped beside, "that is what life is about. It sounds selfish, but it's true. People, demons, animals, everyone does what makes them feel happy. It sounds like a selfish way of life, and it is. Ideals like truth, love, a willingness to sacrifice yourself for those you love, they don't truly exist. If someone lies, it is because it suits their purposes. But if someone tells the truth, even if they don't wish to, it is because even though the possible consequences might be unpleasant, they get a feeling of satisfaction for telling the truth. Love is when someone makes you happy. You love someone because of how they make you feel. You hate because they bring out your unhappier emotions. You die for someone because you love someone so much that you cannot live without the feeling of happiness they give you. You know that if you die, the remainder of your life is going to be filled with self-recriminations and mourning for the one or ones you lost."

Mukuro was entranced, and Kagome seemed to be talking to herself now, voicing ideas that had taken her a long time to develop and accept.

"It is same for the people who do bad things. Murder, stealing, rape, torture, they are all done because they are what makes that person happy at the time. Some people do it and discover that they hate the feelings the acts generate, and they hate themselves for the rest of the rest of their lives. Others, though, get some kind of high off of it. They love the feelings given to them. I'm not sure if it makes them feel powerful, safe, or just general happiness, but they grow addicted to those feelings. Good people, as considered by the ideas of the society, are those who get good feelings when they do what are termed good things by that society. Bad people are the people who get good feelings when they do what are considered bad things by society," Kagome seemed to drift off.

"What of the good people who kill? And do you believe it is right to punish those who have generated bad feelings, hate, in other people?" Mukuro asked. Her soul was soaking up the words eagerly, but she remembered the man that had tortured her for most of her life. For him she felt hate. She wanted to destroy him. She wanted justification; to know what someone else understood and knew what she was doing was deserved.

"That's the question, isn't it? It sounds selfish, to kill someone because they hurt other people or threatened you; made you or someone else feel sad. The bad people are only doing what makes them feel happy, right?" Kagome asked, "I struggled with that question for a long time. If people are only acting because of how they feel, then is it right to punish them?"

Mukuro was listening avidly, though her face didn't show it.

"One day, I realized something. If the bad people can be excused for what they do because it feels right to them, then it is okay for good people to be excused for the same reason. We each live by what our emotions dictate. There isn't really good or evil in this world. There are only beings doing what feels right to them, and that is what makes us who we are. I have a set of beliefs that are dictated by my feelings, and I will stick by them. I saw you and I wanted to help you. I helped you. It makes me feel good to help people. There are people who do bad things to other people, other beings. It makes me feel good to protect the people who can't fight against the people who enjoy hurting others, and so I do so. You will live, learn, and be dictated to by your emotions. So will I. It is life," Kagome fell into silence as she continued to stare out into the distance over the river.

Mukuro was silent. Her life had been filled with survival, hate, a desire to gain her freedom. She had thought that freedom might come when she fell over the cliff. Then this woman had come along and she had strengthened that small part of her that still wanted life, a life beyond her slavery. Now she felt that urge grow even more, and expand. She wanted to live life, to be able to learn about it. Now, she had the chance. A smile crept onto her face, a strange thing that she had never really felt before. The closest thing had been a smirk of triumph when she had managed to escape her master's clutches. This new thing, a smile, came without her bidding. But the strange feeling that came from it, happiness, she thought, that feeling she could become used to.

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The next day, Kagome wondered where in Feudal Japan Sesshoumaru and Kikyo could have got to while Mukuro and she walked along the bank. They were moving ahead, hoping to leave the cliff behind, and made find a better place to wash other then the freezing water that ran besides them.

Mukuro was limping, but her wounds had continued to heal overnight, and already faint scars were beginning to show along the edges of the wounds. Kagome had kept herself from asking where they had come from, but only just. Her curiosity continued to grow, but she had the feeling that the wounds were a personal matter.

"When I fell down the cliff, I had thought that my wounds were bad enough to kill me, let alone the fall," Mukuro commented next to her. Kagome had been embarrassed that she had told an almost complete stranger her beliefs in life, especially when she hadn't even told her friends, but she had seemed to appreciate them and didn't comment on their oddity. Most of yesterday had been spent in silence, though the girls had occasionally had quiet, brief conversations. The friendship that was developing between then was different compared to Kagome's relationship with Sango, but Kagome thought that it might be as strong, with time. Kagome wondered what had made the demon woman, who last night she had discovered was named Mukuro, so reserved, but she had let the issue go. It was almost peaceful, in a way, to sit there in silence with someone else, and not feel uncomfortable. In her old group she had felt like she had to talk, to contribute something other than her ability with weapons even if it was just a cheerful face and bright conversation. Of course, Kagome liked to talk with people, but sometimes it was nice to appreciate silence with someone else and not have to worry about being asked if something was wrong.

Kagome had been nervous that Mukuro might ask her how she had healed so quickly, and so Kagome had been relieved that Mukuro hadn't asked about it. Kagome didn't know how, but a strange sense of friendship had been built yesterday. Kagome didn't ask where Mukuro was going after she healed, or if she was going to leave, and Mukuro didn't ask her what she was doing alone in the wilderness, surviving off her bow and arrows and any vegetation that could be used as a healthy supplement to meat. Of course, apparently she would touch on another issue that made Kagome rather uncomfortable.

"I helped your wounds along. Otherwise, even if you did live you would have lost your arm and part of your head. Your eye was already lost, but I did manage to salvage some of the flesh that been missing," Kagome said. Maybe that would satisfy her, but Kagome had the feeling…

"How did you accomplish that? I am not sure if most healers could do so. Do you have any abilities to heal?" Mukuro asked.

Kagome winced. "Not exactly. My abilities lay in, um, other directions."

"Then how?" Mukuro asked.

"I gave your life force some of mine," Kagome said.

"How? Why?" Mukuro asked sharply, pausing and turning to stare at her, "you can die doing that!"

"Oh. Kikyo didn't mention that, but I suppose I sort of guessed," Kagome said, turning thoughtful to Mukuro's complete astonishment as Kagome tilted her head slightly to the side in thought.

"You weren't sure?" Mukuro asked, then shook her head. She was beginning to think that she would never truly understand Kagome.

"You were going to die. I didn't want you to, and since my powers don't really include healing I used the only technique I knew of. I think your life force knew what to do, and managed to use the energy I gave it to regenerate cells," Kagome said, shrugging. It had worked, so everything was okay.

Mukuro didn't comment. She didn't know much, except that giving someone else your personal life force was really dangerous because it would be hard to stop the procedure, and that if you didn't do soon enough before the wounds had started to heal to a certain point, nothing could be done for the lost bone and flesh. It seemed she owed this Kagome a great debt.

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They managed to make it to the area where Kagome thought she had been supposed to head to last time, as most of the time they were near hot springs. Kagome didn't know why Sesshoumaru was so considerate about that, but then maybe it was just lucky that the demons who continued to attack her liked the areas with hot springs in them. It was still early in the afternoon, and Mukuro looked around curiously.

"Why are we stopping so early?" she asked.

"I was supposed to meet someone, and I think this is the place," Kagome said as she picked up wood, "I'll be able to confirm this spot later."

"How?" Mukuro asked. Kagome turned a bit. She was crouched on the ground, in the process of gathering together sticks to start a fire. A weird grin took over her face, and Mukuro shivered a bit.

"Oh, you'll see," Kagome said, and turned back to the fire.

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The women were staring into the fire when noises could be heard. Mukuro was instantly on the alert and tried to stand up, but her muscles were stiff and the wounds cried in pain. Mukuro bit her lip and continued to struggle up until Kagome told her to stay down.

"Don't worry about it," she said, the strange smile back, "this was the confirmation I was talking about." Mukuro stayed down, expecting to see whomever Kagome was waiting for come into the light. Instead, four huge demons crashed out of the bushes, yelling something about jewel shards. Why would they want jewel shards? A memory stirred and she remembered her master and another of his friends talking around a fire, something about a jewel that had been broken, and whose shards gave power. She didn't have any, though, and why would Kagome?

"Hello! I suppose you wouldn't just leave us two poor girls be and leave, would you?" Kagome asked.

Mukuro stared in surprise. Kagome was gripping the hilt of the sword Mukuro had thought was purely for intimidation, and that was exactly was Kagome appeared to be doing. Personally, she didn't think it would work. She was just a human woman, after all.

"Give us the jewels!" one of the demons yelled, and the others added their agreements as they charged. Mukuro stood up, very sore but determined to fight, and then stopped.

Kagome launched into the air, her sword flaming a strange pink. She leapt over the demons' heads, something that Mukuro had believed that no human could do, twisted in midair, and sliced through the demon's back. Mukuro didn't think a sword that could be a toothpick to the demon the sword struck would hurt the demon, but it disappeared in a small cloud of dust. Kagome made a clutching motion midair as she fell to the ground then leapt back up, engaging the other demons. Mukuro sat shocked on the ground as all the facts she had came together.

Kagome was a miko. The red and white clothing, the bow and arrows, and most importantly, the ability of purification. It made sense now. But miko were the natural enemies of demons. Would Kagome try and kill her too? She watched in horror as the woman purified the other demons, seemingly catching one other something in midair. Kagome turned to face Mukuro then, and Mukuro froze.

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Kagome turned around, smiling. She had gotten two more jewel shards, and she had found the right place to meet Sesshoumaru, even if she was a bit late. She stopped as she caught sight of Mukuro's face. It drawn in lines of stunned horror, and Kagome felt her heart skip a beat.

"Mukuro, I thought, I thought you knew," she said, "that is why I wear this clothing."

"You're a miko! Why haven't you purified me?" Mukuro asked sharply. She was in no shape to fight a miko, especially one that seemed that strong. Mukuro felt threatened, everyone else with power had abused it, so why shouldn't Kagome? Miko killed demons, she would too.

Kagome sat down suddenly. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm friends with a half-demon, a cat demon, and a fox demon, and am being trained by a dog demon. I only purify people who attack me or others who deserve it. If I had wanted to kill you, I would have let you die earlier."

Mukuro's instinct to run started to fade as she remembered who she was talking to. Kagome had seemed friendly so far, and had even risked her life to save Mukuro's. "Sorry. A demon does not naturally just trust someone she just discovered could easily turn her into dust, even if she knows better."

Kagome gave a sigh of relief. "You worried me for a second. Look at it like this, my way of fighting means there isn't a stench afterwards."

Mukuro gave a startled chuckle. "That's true, I suppose. Do you really have shards of that jewel?"

"Yes, and I really hope you aren't going to try and jump me for them," Kagome said.

"Are they dangerous?" Mukuro asked.

Kagome sighed. "Yes, they are. Even if you use them to increase your power, they attract others who desire them. Your life would be filled with fighting."

"I don't mind fighting," Mukuro said. Kagome stood up, her face sad, and started to walk away.

"However," Mukuro continued, "I don't think I would trust a power source that could so easily be taken from me. Whatever strength I have, I want to know that it is my own."

Kagome turned around, her relief so obvious that Mukuro smiled again. She didn't know why it came so easily to her around this woman, a miko none the less, but it did.

"I" and she stuttered, "I wasn't worried. I was just going to go find dinner!" she chuckled nervously.

"Maybe you should get your bow and arrows first," Mukuro said, nodding in their direction.

"Um, right! Yeah, need those, I'll just go and get dinner!" Kagome repeated as she ran out of the clearing, but not before she heard Mukuro's laughter behind her. Kagome couldn't resist a smile of her own as she ran away, ready to find something to eat! Later, she would remember that they had already eaten, and they also had leftovers for the next morning. How embarrassing!

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The next morning Sesshoumaru arrived while Mukuro was still sleeping. Kagome was a bit away, so he didn't notice the demon as he approached Kagome. She turned around to face him and smiled.

"Hello, where have you been?" she asked.

"I was not the one who failed to be at the correct destination," he said.

"What if I fell into the river and got sick or was ambushed by Naraku or something?" Kagome asked.

"Then you would not be worthy of further training," he said.

"Jerk," was Kagome reply, and they commenced with their dueling.

Kagome was rather annoyed to know that Sesshoumaru was negligent of his students. Kagome had become fond of Sesshoumaru, since he was devoting a great deal of his "valuable" time to fighting with her, and he was interesting to try and decipher, but this was rather annoying, though pure Sesshoumaru. She decided to ignore it and concentrate on the fight. She had gotten to the point where she was only killed a dozen times a day, which was good for her.

Mukuro woke up to the sounds of the clashing of swords, her mind awakening quickly. She stood up; most of her wounds healed, though still showing scars, and looked for the source. She finally found it, and her brain ceased to function momentarily. Kagome was fighting Lord Sesshoumaru. The Lord of the Western Lands. Granted, he wasn't a lord like a human lord, for a demon lord's title was only gained if he or she were the strongest in the region, and did not include administrative duties, but that still meant that Kagome was fighting for her life against a demon that some said was the strongest in Japan.

"Leave Kagome alone!" Mukuro's voice rang out sharply in command as she braced herself to join the fight.

The two stopped fighting to look at her. Mukuro started to feel foolish. Something was wrong.

"Who are you?" Lord Sesshoumaru asked.

"Mukuro, my lord," she said, bowing deeply.

"I've heard rumors of an escaped slave with that name. Are you she?" Lord Sesshoumaru asked. Kagome looked at Mukuro sharply.

"And if I am," Mukuro asked, trying to be brave.

"It is of no consequence to me. If you are strong enough to escape from your master then you are no longer his slave," Sesshoumaru said.

Mukuro's heart skipped a bit. While Lord Sesshoumaru was not like a human lord, his opinion was still respected, and if he said she wasn't a slave, then she wasn't a slave. She saw Kagome give Lord Sesshoumaru a look of approval, and her attention returned to the situation at hand.

"Mukuro, Lord Sesshoumaru is training me," Kagome said, looking a bit embarrassed.

Mukuro's eyebrow rose. Her other eyebrow had not grown back yet, and Mukuro doubted it ever would. But why was Lord Sesshoumaru training a human, even if she was a strong miko?

"Sesshoumaru is aiding me in my quest to destroy Naraku," Kagome said, her tone slightly embarrassed.

"Lord Sesshoumaru could destroy Naraku by himself," Mukuro said, confused.

"He is beneath my notice," Lord Sesshoumaru said.

Kagome huffed. "He is a regenerative half-demon, and so tenacious that if someone left one speck of him in one piece he would probably manage to find a way back. If I purify him, then he won't come back."

Mukuro held back a gape of astonishment at Kagome boldness to correct the Lord, expecting him to slice her in half, but nothing happened.

"This is why your arrival was delayed?" Lord Sesshoumaru asked.

"Yes," Kagome answered.

"Very well. Next time arrive promptly even if you have to drag whatever wounded soul you take pity on to the meeting spot," he commanded.

"Only if you promise to use Tensaiga on them when the journey kills them," Kagome shot back.

Sesshoumaru ignored that comment and started attacking her again. Mukuro, after watching for a few moments, decided to sit down. Despite her earlier beliefs that Kagome was a weak woman, now that she saw her in action she was a gifted warrior. Add that with the fact it was Lord Sesshoumaru she was fighting, and Mukuro decided that she would be able to learn much about fighting if she continued to watch, now, and perhaps if she decided to continue with Kagome while she trained. It seemed that by her side would be a good place to hone her fighting skills, for apparently this miko had a knack of getting into the middle of things.

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After Sesshoumaru left, the two women walked to the next site. "If there is a hot spring, would you like to join me in a bath now that most of your wounds have healed?" Kagome asked.

"That would be fine," Mukuro said, "How did you meet Lord Sesshoumaru?"

"Oh, um, I know his half-brother," Kagome said, a slight blush on her face.

"And how did you meet him?" Mukuro asked.

"That's a bit complicated, but we ended up journeying together, along with a few other friends of mine," Kagome said. Her face looked a bit downcast as she spoke, which Mukuro didn't completely understand.

"Why are you sad?" she asked.

Kagome's face brightened so quickly that it was almost as if a mask had been placed over her features. "Oh, nothing! I'm not sad!"

"Yes, you were," Mukuro stated.

"I just miss them, that's all," Kagome said, giving in.

"Did they die?" Mukuro asked, slightly confused.

"Oh, no, as far as I know they are doing fine!" Kagome said.

"Then what is the problem?" Mukuro had never missed anyone, and had never really had anyone she cared for so this concept was challenging for her to comprehend.

"I miss them. I miss being with them. I wish I could be traveling with them right now, helping them fight, but I have to train. If I am to be of any assistance in beating Naraku, then I need to be as skilled as they are in their own rights," Kagome said.

"They could not train you?" Mukuro asked.

Kagome's face fell. "I'd rather not talk about it," she said. She started walking a little faster, so that she was ahead of Mukuro.

'Does she really care for them so much?' Mukuro wondered, 'then why is she not with them?'

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That night as Mukuro slept after helping Kagome dispatch demons for the first time, Kikyo appeared. Before Kagome could ask where Kikyo had been, Kikyo asked her a question.

"What happened to you? I couldn't sense your presence, your life energy. Were you wounded?" she asked.

"Oh, no! Mukuro, there," and Kagome motioned towards the sleeping demon, "was really wounded, and I had to help her recover."

"And you risked your life for some demon you have never met?" Kikyo asked disapprovingly, guessing what the naïve girl had done.

"Yes! It was the right thing to do!" Kagome said. She wondered absently why they had not awakened Mukuro, unless she was just pretending to be asleep. She winced a bit, and apologized in her head.

"Do not be so careless, next time. Your life energy has only last night recovered enough so that I could sense it, and that is unacceptable. Leave healing to those with the power to do so," Kikyo said.

"If I can save someone's life, it's worth it!" Kagome said back.

"If you die, and I am not able to defeat Naraku by myself, who shall? If Naraku reigns supreme, many more lives will be taken then just one little demon girl's!" Kikyo said harshly back.

"If I don't do what I believe in, then I am betraying myself!" Kagome shouted back.

"Very well. If you are not willing to let some people die to save everyone, you are not worthy of my teachings!" Kikyo said stiffly, and turned to leave. Kagome caught her shoulder and turned her back around.

"That isn't true! You told me that a miko's power comes from how true they stay to their soul, what they believe in! If I betrayed my beliefs like that, I would lose a part of myself that I refuse to loose! I want to defeat Naraku as badly as you do, Kikyo, but I am not going to let my morals fall by the wayside!" Kagome said.

Kikyo slapped her and Kagome fell to the ground, holding her cheek and looking up at her with burning eyes. "Do you? Does your heart burn with the desire to see his ashes spread across the world? Do you spend every single moment wishing for his death? You don't truly understand what I lost, the day he attacked! I want to see his death with every particle of my being! I will do anything, anything to see his destruction! If you are not willing to do so, I am leaving!"

"Fine!" Kagome said, standing up, "if that is what you believe, then do it! The only life I am willing to sacrifice is mine! No one else!"

"You say so," Kikyo sneered, "but what of the villages you have buried? They have been sacrificed because of the jewel, and yet you didn't manage to save them. You might not be aware of it, but people are still dieing because of the jewel while you train! You may believe you are noble, girl, but you are aiding no one by following your current beliefs!"

"I am sorry, Kikyo, but I cannot accept that," Kagome said, her face held high while tears threatened to fall down her face.

"You are not worthy of my powers," Kikyo said, then turned and walked away into the darkness.

Kagome fell to the ground, crying silently, while Mukuro tried to understand the conversation she had just heard. It would be a long time before she would.

End of Chapter Four

Hi folks! THIS IS A **VERY IMPORTANT** AUTHOR'S NOTE. **IF YOU DON'T READ THIS, YOU** **WILL BE VERY CONFUSED AND DISAPPOINTED!**

All right. I've had this chapter written for ages now, but have not been able to make changes to make it right. Anyways, something came up today and **I WILL BE TAKING A SABBATICAL FROM WRITING FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS OR SO, FOR PERSONAL REASONS**. Once everything is taken care of, I will return with a nice, long Chapter Five, and a great deal of apologies. You have been some of the best readers and reviewers anyone could ask for (I mean, really, I wrote the story that wasn't that great in the first version, tried writing a prequel and a new version at the same time, and now am writing my last and final version, and I still have some very sweet reviewers still reviewing and reading my stuff. Who could ask for anyone sweeter?) and I feel really bad to be doing this, but I have had some things I've needed to work on for awhile, and they've come to a head. I really hope to be hearing from you in a few months, and that you won't be cursing me and feeling very resentful about this because I already am feeling guilty about it and I will probably bore you with apologies when I come back.

Anyways, I wanted to get this posted before I stopped, and thus it didn't have the benefit of having my lovely editor Andrasteia Wen edit it, and I kind of feel sorry for you for having to read that. All grammatical errors must be blamed on me, and not my poor editor. My apologies again, and I hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive me and possibly return to reading when I get back (though I wouldn't blame you if you gave up.)

One last important annoucment. **I AM NOT GIVING UP ON THIS FANFICTION! I WILL FINISH IT! I WILL FINISH THE NEXT TWO THAT COME AFTER IT AND THE ONE SHOTS THAT GO WITH IT** (for further information please look at my profile!) Thanks again!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Never have I or will I ever own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho. Get over it.

You aren't reading this or the disclaimer, are you? I know all!

**Fire's Awakening**

_Chapter Five_

Kagome stayed up all night, thinking about the decisions she had made. How many people were suffering because of her choice? She had thought that having taken the jewel shard she had with her she would be drawing most of the trouble towards herself, but apparently not. By the time the sun rose, she had reached her decision. Now she had only to forgive herself for making it.

Kagome stood up, muscles sore and stiff. She did a few stretches until she could move without too much pain, then walked away from the campsite, leaving an already awake Mukuro on her own.

Sesshoumaru, who had been walking through another clearing, paused as Kagome burst through the trees. Kagome wasted little time, and asked, "What has Naraku been doing while I was away?"

"It is no concern of yours, except that he is not yet defeated," Sesshoumaru replied.

"It is if people are dying. I am training to keep the death count from rising, but if I'm here, then what of the people who are left defenseless?" Kagome asked, standing with back straight and hands clenched at her side.

Sesshoumaru drew himself up slightly. "How many people have you actually saved, Kagome? And how many villages and battlefields have you come to, only to see a village or field filled with rotting corpses? It might not be like this where you come from, but here death happens everyday, from illness, accident, or being killed by demons or other humans. Are you so naïve that you believe you can stop it? Come here from your world and save this one?"

"If I can save one person's life, one child's, it's worth it!" Kagome shot back, fighting against feelings of betrayal. She knew what Sesshoumaru was like, but she hadn't been able to help but become attached to him for what he was doing for her.

"You are an idiotic child. People die, demons die. Everything dies. You can't stop it forever," Sesshoumaru said.

Kagome visibly deflated. She had already lost one teacher, and she didn't want to lose another. "Is there anything wrong with trying, Sesshoumaru? I'm not going to run away and try to save everyone. I just want to help those I can. I don't think it is a fault on my part, Sesshoumaru."

Sesshoumaru stood there for a moment. "You cannot leave until you have proved you can," Sesshoumaru stated.

Kagome nodded slightly. "I won't, I swear."

Sesshoumaru looked at her for a moment. "Naraku has been mostly quiet, recovering from my attack," he said finally.

"Inuyasha helped, too," Kagome pointed out. "What happened to that little girl anyways? You fought to save her."

"She is under my protection, and under it she shall not die," Sesshoumaru said.

"What happened to death is a natural part of life, huh?" Kagome asked. A smile, after the long hours of reflection, grew slowly on her face.

Sesshoumaru didn't say anything, and shifted slightly, looking over Kagome's shoulder. Kagome's smile turned into a grin. "You can't say anything about it, can you? Ha!" Kagome grabbed her sword, still smiling, and started the training session. She was relieved to hear that Naraku was basically still licking his wounds.

That day, instead of ending the training at noon, Sesshoumaru herded her like he had in the beginning, but there was one change. Mukuro, who once again came forward to watch and had been following in a tree, was told, "If you are going to stand around observing, you might as well join in," by Sesshoumaru. Mukuro had gaped at first, for the honor of training with the Western Lord was one she hadn't even known anyone had received before Kagome, but after a moments pause, she walked over quickly to join in. Instead of fighting with weapons, however, Mukuro used her body, keeping a skin-tight barrier around herself to keep from getting wounded. It didn't stop Tenseiga however, and between Kagome's hits that would have killed her if it had gone through and Sesshoumaru's fake kills, she "died" many times that day, much to her embarrassment.

The fight ended at sunset, with Sesshoumaru disappearing from the two women's combined attack (alliances were fragile and not allowed to last more then ten minutes so that the two women would gain experience fighting against superior numbers) and they stood there for a moment, looking around warily. After no attack came against them from Sesshoumaru for a few minutes, they relaxed. Kagome had many bruises from rough landings and Mukuro's rather painful hits, and Mukuro had even more. They sat on the ground together, leaning against a tree, then each other. Kagome finally stood up. "I'm going to go find some meat. If you could start a fire and fetch some water, it would be appreciated."

Mukuro nodded, and the two women separated to their tasks. They really could have slept the entire night and into the next day, but if they wished to eat, it wasn't possible. After Kagome got back, Kagome put a barrier up and poked a few holes in it to let air in and smoke out, since Kagome hadn't mastered the finer arts of barriers and how to control what went through and what didn't. It was getting colder, and since Kagome didn't have but two blankets that had been all right for the fall nights, they wouldn't be sufficient for winter's snow. They were just about to fall asleep when they heard a roar. The two exhausted women looked at each other and groaned. They stood up, and Kagome walked through holding Mukuro's hand so that she could come as well. However, as the current demon came into sight, Kagome's eyes lit up. He had a naginata.

Kagome bounced a little in her spot, and before the demon, which had a more human form, could say anything, Kagome said, "I know, I know, you want to jewel shard," she dangled bottle of jewel shards in front of her. "Here it is! You know you want it! Come on!"

"You little brat!" the demon roared, starting to barrel towards her.

"He's mine!" Kagome shouted, excitement giving her new energy. Before the demon could do much else he was purified, and Kagome was almost hugging the naginata.

"I've missed you so much," Kagome whispered to the naginata, and she gave it a few twirls.

Mukuro watched in astonishment as Kagome hugged, whispered, and altogether treated her naginata like a long lost baby.

"Are you okay?" she asked finally.

"I'm better then okay! I have a naginata again! When Sesshoumaru arbitrarily decided to train me, I didn't have my naginata with me, and now I have one again! It's my favorite weapon! Come on!" and Kagome dragged Mukuro threw the barrier. She then proceeded to ignore Mukuro and started running her hands over the weapon. It glowed slightly, and then subsided. Soon Kagome was asleep, once again hugging her new weapon to her with the blade stopping a few inches above her head. Mukuro, who was still trying to figure things out, finally decided to add it to the list of weird things about Kagome, and soon joined Kagome in the world of dreams.

The next day, Kagome was up before the sun, waking Mukuro up as well. "Come on!" she said, smiling at the grumpy Mukuro, "It's a beautiful day, the sun isn't shining yet but it will soon, and I have a naginata! Let us rejoice!"

Mukuro grudgingly got up, and they ate breakfast. As soon as Kagome was finished, she was up and practicing with her new weapon. Mukuro was astonished to see that she was better at it than at the sword. She would stab and thrust, divert and block her opponent that only she could see, and Mukuro grew slightly nervous. It had been hard enough when her two opponents had swords, but now one of them had an even longer weapon? She was in trouble.

Sesshoumaru suddenly blocked one of Kagome's thrusts, and the fight was on. Mukuro jumped in with a reluctant sigh, having quickly figured out the other day that training with Sesshoumaru was almost more of a curse rather than a blessing. She died many more times that day.

Once again Sesshoumaru trained with them the entire day. The fight was a spectacular one, sometimes a melee on the ground, and sometimes a chase through the trees, meeting for a brief clash in the air, only to land again and chase or be chased. Kagome and Mukuro started to catcall the other one and Sesshoumaru, who made disparaging remarks back. The entire day, while utterly exhausting as usual, had also been a great deal of fun. Sesshoumaru left once more at sunset, and Mukuro and Kagome once more collapsed, but they laughed, since Kagome had just insulted Sesshoumaru's pelt thing right as he left.

"Where does he go, anyways?" Mukuro asked after a moment, looking at the trees where he had gone.

Kagome shrugged. "I figure he's going back to Jaken, his two headed dragon, and Rin."

Mukuro looked at Kagome. "Who's Rin?" she asked.

"Rin," Kagome said, "is a young girl that Sesshoumaru has apparently adopted. Not only that, but she's human!"

"You're kidding!" Mukuro said, looking at Kagome with disbelief. "Sesshoumaru hates almost all humans!"

"Not Rin, it seems. It was the cutest thing. Apparently Naraku kidnapped her, and Sesshoumaru went right after her. And she's also even apparently made friends with Jaken, who I could have sworn was the most pompous, self-righteous, and not even that strong of a demon I knew of that hated humans." Kagome sighed, and fell to the ground behind her.

"You get to hunt today," Kagome muttered, looking up at the sky.

Mukuro shrugged and left, and Kagome, after a few moments of watching the first star appear, gathered wood and started the fire. It wasn't long before Mukuro returned, carrying a small deer, and they put it on to cook. This time there was a hot spring near by, and while the deer cooked, they went to wash themselves and their clothes.

By now Kagome's clothes looked like rags, having been patched so many times, and Mukuro was wearing Kagome's old outfit, also patched up.

Kagome and Mukuro sat back against the rocks, sighing blissfully. The hot springs was a particularly hot one. After a few moments of relaxing, Kagome sat up and dunked her head under the water. She scrubbed her hair as best as she could without shampoo, and looked at its length with dismay.

"It's getting so long," Kagome complained to Mukuro.

"What do you mean? It's not that long. Look at Sesshoumaru's hair. If he dressed as a woman, he'd have all the male demons of Japan lusting after him, along with most of the human males. As it is most of the women that see him do," Mukuro said, her face twisted in slight disgust.

"I know," Kagome said, laughing a little, "but look at this! Before all this started, my hair didn't go past my shoulder blades and now it's almost halfway down my back, and my bangs are only an inch away from my chin!"

"Your hair grows fast," Mukuro said, and touched her red mane regretfully. Most of it was gone on one side, and on the other she had a fine layer of red fluff.

Kagome noticed her wistful expression and came over to Mukuro. "Don't worry, it will grow back."

"In a couple of centuries," Mukuro said, looking at it the strand of hair that barely touched her shoulders. "I've never cut my hair, and look at it!"

Kagome was about to say something, but they heard a noise in the bushes. The two women silently swam over to the shore, Kagome grabbing her naginata and Mukuro a rock. A young human male came through, and upon seeing them, yelled and turned around quickly. Mukuro threw the rock at him, but the naginata in Kagome's hand fell to the ground below her.

"Stay right where you are!" Kagome commanded, and when Mukuro looked at her, trying to figure out what was going on, Kagome just shook her head.

As they dressed, they listened to the very embarrassed boy apologize over and over. "I'm so sorry, I was just looking for whoever had the campsite and I didn't know you were bathing and I'll never do it again and—" he was stopped by Mukuro.

"Shut up! We get it already! Just let us finish getting dressed!" Mukuro said harshly.

"Be nice, Mukuro!" Kagome hissed.

"He walked in on us bathing! I'm not going to be nice!" Mukuro hissed right back.

They finished getting dressed, and Kagome whispered, "Let me handle this!"

"It's okay. You can turn around now," Kagome said.

The boy turned around, eyes staring at the ground with a face that was redder than Inuyasha's clothing.

"I'm sorry," he muttered again.

"It's okay," Kagome said. "Are you hungry? We have food at the camp."

The young man finally got the courage to look up. "Um, Kagome, was it? I wanted to know if I could fight with you."

"How do you know my name? Kohaku, do you remember?!" Kagome asked, eyes growing in size.

Kohaku's face turned a few shades paler. "I do," he said quietly. "I want revenge. You're the only one he's scared of Kagome, you and Kikyou, and I want to help you."

"Kohaku, what about Sango? She misses you so much!" Kagome stepped closer to him, as if to touch his shoulder, but he flinched away.

"She's better off without me," Kohaku said.

"That's not true! She's been fighting for you, for everyone!" Kagome retorted, hands on hips.

"I know," Kohaku said. Living under Naraku's control had been a terrible experience. In some part of him, he had known what he had been doing, and he tried to fight as much as he could, but hadn't been able to do anything. The only good thing about the experience was that he knew that it was Naraku's fault. He could still remember Sango's face as she knelt above him, ready to kill him then herself. That memory had and did continue to haunt him. "I can't. Not yet. Please, can I travel with you?"

Kagome sighed. She looked at Mukuro. Mukuro had heard the story before, and she looked at the boy Kagome told her about, whose sister was willing to do anything to save, and here he was, apparently free from Naraku's control.

"Would it be possible to remove your jewel shard?" Mukuro asked bluntly.

Kagome gasped, and turned to Mukuro. "You want him to die?!"

"I don't want there to be any chance that Naraku can control him anymore," Mukuro said, staring into Kohaku's eyes.

"I think so," Kohaku said, ignoring Kagome's disbelief. "Naraku used the jewel shards right after they laid me down. I didn't actually die. I think there are two shards joined together, one to keep the pain away and one to keep the wounds closed."

Kagome's face turned from disbelief to thoughtfulness. "It's possible. It wouldn't actually make sense for one jewel shard to be able to reanimate a body. When he put one in Sango, it only kept Sango from feeling the pain. I'd have to get some bandages and things before you removed them, but it is possible."

Kohaku's tense form relaxed. "You're willing, then?" he asked.

"Certainly. I have a little brother your age, you know? It won't be a problem," Kagome remembered something, "but, um, Sesshoumaru will be coming by every day. You okay with that?" Kagome remembered that Kohaku had been the one to keep watch of Rin, and how angry Sesshoumaru had been with that.

"It will be okay, I think," Kohaku said. "He didn't kill me. That's good, right?"

Kagome and Mukuro laughed. "That's always good, when it comes to Sesshoumaru, kid. Come on, let's go eat," Mukuro said. She would give this boy a chance. He didn't seem too bad.

Dinner was quickly devoured despite the black bits. Kohaku looked around. "Why didn't you gather anything else to eat? I think I saw lots of food around here."

Kagome and Mukuro looked at each other, and then back at Kohaku. "It's winter. I didn't think there would be anything to eat," Mukuro said.

"The only vegetables I know about are the ones that you can buy," Kagome added.

"You mean I'm the only one here that knows about food?" Kohaku asked in disbelief.

"Yes," Kagome and Mukuro chorused.

Kohaku sighed. It looked like he would be the cook, or they'd all be reduced to eating meat in the near future.

"How long have you been eating like this?" Kohaku asked finally.

"I don't know. A while, now, I think," Kagome said, trying to remember how long she'd been out in the wilderness.

"Not as long as her," Mukuro added.

Kohaku would have said something about how unhealthy they were being, but he had been brought up to respect his elders.

"However," Kagome said brightly, "I do know which herbs to get for you! Just you wait here, and I'll go get them!"

The boy and the demon watched Kagome run out into to the darkness. "How can someone know about healing, and not about cooking?" Kohaku asked.

Mukuro shrugged. "Don't ask me."

"You're a demon, aren't you?" Kohaku asked quietly, looking at her from the corners of his eyes.

"Yeah. Didn't you know? You are a demon exterminator, aren't you? Shouldn't you be able to tell these sorts of things?" Mukuro questioned.

"I thought demons didn't like humans," Kohaku admitted.

"I don't care. As long as humans stay out of my way, I'm good. If they attack me, I'd kill them though," Mukuro said bluntly.

Kohaku bit his lip. "It isn't really fair to kill someone who's weaker than you."

"It isn't really fair for a bunch of humans to gang up on a demon and kill it either, but it still happens," Mukuro countered.

"Right," Kohaku said weakly.

They sat there for awhile then, neither talking but just watching the fire. After awhile Kagome returned with a few cold weather herbs, and three rocks. One of the rocks had a slight bowl-like indention in it, and it was in that Kagome ground the herbs.

"Now, normally miko use the dried version of this, but Kaede didn't say why. She did say the plant wasn't naturally dangerous, so it should be all right," Kagome said cheerfully as she ground.

Kohaku started to look a bit worried. Mukuro asked, "And you didn't use that on me because?"

"First, you were dying and there wasn't time, and after, well, you know, it wasn't needed." Kagome replied, acting unnaturally cheerful.

"What happened to you?" since the subject had already been brought up, Kohaku thought it would be safe to ask the question now. She looked horribly scarred on her left side, and whatever she had gone through must have been really painful.

"A cliff, among other things," Mukuro said. She didn't really want to go into detail at the moment.

Kohaku said nothing more. He was in his normal clothing, with the demon exterminator gear stored in a small bundle besides him. He remembered something he had in there, and drew out a few rolls of bandaging and a small shell-shaped container.

"Here," Kohaku offered to Kagome, "This should help."

"Oh good," Kagome said. She looked down. Everything had been ground together, and she had everything she needed. She gulped nervously. "Are you ready?"

Kagome wasn't the only one who was nervous. Kohaku was about to place his hands in someone whose only recommendations were that she was friends with his sister and she was Naraku's most feared enemy. Good character qualifications, but not good for healer recommendations.

Kohaku slowly took off the top of his clothing, lay down, and turned over on his back. He was grateful that the two women couldn't see his face, for a few tears were escaping. He was really afraid that he wouldn't make it and he wouldn't be able to make up for everything he did. Not only that, but he remembered how painful it had been; arrows piercing into his body, and his life draining away. He wasn't scared, he was terrified.

Kagome took a deep breath. She grabbed a small knife she had liberated from one of the demons, and made a small incision into his back. Kohaku moaned slightly, and Kagome reached in with her other hand and plucked the two jewel shards out. Immediately Kohaku passed out from the pain as about five arrow wounds opened and started pouring blood.

Kagome frantically started to try and staunch the blood flow, quickly enlisting Mukuro's aid. All they could do was try to stop the blood from flowing out, and so they had to put pressure on the wounds. As soon as they took a bandage away, blood would start to flow again, and so it went for most of the night. A couple of hours before morning, they tried taking off the bandage of one of the wounds and the blood was coming out sluggishly. Kagome, for lack of anything else she could think of, started to blow on it. Mukuro gave her an incredulous look.

Kagome shrugged her shoulder slightly. "It needs to dry. You have any other suggestions?" She reached with one of her hands over to the salve Kohaku had gotten out. "I hope this helps." It did. When applied to the other wounds, it slowed the bleeding down as well, and soon they had enough hands to sit a still unconscious Kohaku up and wrap his chest tightly, with extra bandaging where his wounds were.

Kagome and Mukuro sat back with relief. The fire had almost died down, but the remaining heat was enough to send them to sleep.

The next morning, Sesshoumaru came by. The sight was a curious one. Two women, demon and miko, were leaning both against each other and the nearby tree. A wounded human, who he remembered well, lay besides them. He sighed in resignation. He had never seen anyone who had as much ability to attract strays as she did; first in her other group with his baka of a brother, and now when she was by herself. He turned around and headed back towards his group, and brought everyone back with him.

Upon seeing what his lord had been occupying his time with, Jaken gave a cry of dismay. "Milord, your brother's miko, a human, and a disfigured demon?! What are they doing here? Are you going to destroy them?"

Rin, however, ran over to Kohaku. "Kohaku? Are you okay? What happened?"

She didn't get a response, and she ran back to Sesshoumaru. "Is he going to live? Lord Sesshoumaru?"

"He shall," Sesshoumaru said. She smiled up at him, and once again her trust in him warmed a part of him that had, before her arrival, been rather cold.

Rin went over to Kohaku and started to hum a song, holding his hand. The humming woke Kagome, and after she woke up a little more she blinked at the rather sweet show in front of her. She tried to be quiet, but Rin noticed her movement and smiled.

"Hello! My name is Rin! What's yours?" she asked.

"Kagome. Are you friends with Kohaku?" Kagome asked, sitting up and crossing her legs.

"Yes. What happened to him?" Rin questioned.

"Um," Kagome said. How to explain everything? "Some men were mad at him and shot him with arrows."

"Why?" Rin asked, "He's nice."

"I don't know, Rin. What are you doing here?" Kagome glanced over at Sesshoumaru, and looked back at Rin. Rin was definitely easier to question.

"Lord Sesshoumaru said to come and we came." Rin answered simply as if there need for another explanation.

Kagome was tempted to roll her eyes, but refrained. Maybe Rin wasn't the best person to ask about things.

Jaken watched the entire process with dismay. He was actually a pretty smart demon, having been the leader of his tribe before deciding to follow Lord Sesshoumaru, and it was easy to tell that the miko and Sesshoumaru knew each other. This meant that he would have to put up with the miko, who was an even more annoying person than Rin. The miko had hit him with his own staff that Lord Sesshoumaru had given him! Jaken sighed and kicked a rock at his feet a little. Why did Lord Sesshoumaru do this to him? Hadn't he done everything his lord asked of him?

"Kagome, load the boy onto the dragon. Rin, you will keep an eye on him and follow me along with Jaken," Sesshoumaru commanded.

Kagome was tempted to roll her eyes, but she was grateful to Sesshoumaru for making allowances for Kohaku. Sango would be so happy when she saw Kohaku and found out that he was free from Naraku's influence and alive and well! She discretely nudged the sleeping Mukuro with her foot as she carried Kohaku to the dragon so that Sesshoumaru wouldn't give his usual wake up call, or worse, leave her behind.

Rin followed Kagome to the dragon, and it snorted a bit at Kagome. Rin smiled and patted one of their cheeks. "Lady Kagome, this is Ah Un. Ah Un, this is Lady Kagome. She's a new friend!" Kagome smiled, and nodded a bit at the dragon. The dragon reached its heads over to her hair and snorted, memorizing her smell. Rin giggled then helped Kagome get Kohaku onto to the dragon, helping to hold him on. Jaken, grumbling under his breath, reluctantly got up in front of the children.

"Follow Lord Sesshoumaru!" Jaken yelled. The beast stayed put, waiting for Lord Sesshoumaru to move. He waited while Mukuro sat up, looked around and tried to figure out what was going on, and then came over to stand by Kagome, deciding to put off questions until later when she and Kagome were alone.

Sesshoumaru sighed, though it was a very slight one, and started the day's lesson. Rin and Jaken watched in amazement. A big grin came over his face, and he started to yell insults towards the two women and praised most of Sesshoumaru's moves. It wasn't too much later while flying over a lake, Rin discretely nudged Jaken off.

That night, Kagome, Mukuro, and Kohaku were once again alone. Rin had promised to be back the next morning to check on Kohaku, because he hadn't awakened and she wanted to make sure he was all right. Kagome nodded, all the while thinking of ways she could set Rin and Kohaku up. They'd make a cute couple.

Kohaku didn't wake up until the middle of the night. Kagome crawled over to where he was lying down, moaning slightly. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Hurts," Kohaku managed. "Will I be okay?"

"I think so. We changed your bandages, and no infection has set in. You had a very devoted nurse today named Rin," Kagome said, smiling a little. She could barely make it out, but she could see a slight blush on Kohaku's face. He fell back asleep, followed by Kagome.

After that, Kohaku recovered quickly considering his wounds. Rin, Ah Un, and Jaken, once he caught up, continued to follow them during the day. Rin was always talking with Kohaku, chattering to him about this or that, and Kohaku making occasional comments back. She was excited to learn that he remembered his family, but didn't press for details because she remembered how she hated to talk that much about her family. Jaken sat silently sulking behind the two, wondering once again what had gone wrong in his life.

After about eight weeks, Kohaku was well enough to once again fight, and started to participate in the mostly nightly attacks. The attacks had died down, however, because rumors of the two angels of death had started to spread. One was a beautiful miko, wielding her weapons with an airy grace, and another was a deformed demon with the gleam of death in her eyes. Kagome and Mukuro, however, knew of none of this, and were only grateful for the decline of attacks. They were also grateful when Kohaku took over preparation of food, ordering them what to pick, and making meals that varied more than burnt rabbit, charred deer, extremely blackened squirrel, and so forth.

Kikyou had returned one night, having heard the rumors and deciding to give Kagome another chance. She didn't explain much, and they both avoided the topic, concentrating on other matters. Kikyou couldn't come every night, having taken over a small hospital for wounded, and had checked over Kohaku's wounds, which hadn't quite healed by then. She said that they were making good progress, and didn't need much assistance from her other than more bandaging and a few herbs that she had access to, since Kagome had been limited to what she could gather during the winter months.

Kagome wondered occasionally about how much time had passed. It had gone by quickly and slowly at the same time, and she had nothing to help her keep track. Her most positive estimate was about three months, with the less positive estimate of four. She continued to think about her family, and Inuyasha and the others. Were they worried? Did they know she was okay? However, she also knew that the quicker she trained, the quicker she would be able to go home.

It was about two weeks later, after another day of training, when they met Yomi.

Kohaku, while not wishing to join in with the fights with Sesshoumaru, would spend part of his day practicing, including showing off his weapon to Rin, traveling through the woods looking for other demons, and the rest of it talking with Rin, who loved having Kohaku around.

So it was, when the demon entered the clearing, everyone had already fallen into a deep sleep. He crept through the campsite, nerves frayed. He had to have the Shikon no Tama. He needed his eyesight back. The past few weeks spent recovering from being blinded had been hell on his nerves, and his only hope was to use his former skill as a thief to steal the Shikon shards from the woman all the rumors had been spreading about. Her skills didn't matter, however, since in sleep everyone was equally talented in fighting.

He was able to sense things vaguely. It was easy to sense the auras in the clearing, two women, one a human miko and one a demon woman just as the rumors said, and one young human male, which they hadn't mentioned. He could feel where the fire was, and most importantly, he could tell where the Shikon was. The barrier around them hadn't been too much trouble; it seemed to have been erected to keep heat in. So here he was, bending over the human miko about the touch the jewel shards when a hand grabbed his wrist.

He bit back a cry, trying not to alert the others, as he struggled to free his hand. With his other hand he tried to grab for the shards again, but his struggles had indeed awakened the others and he could feel some sharp-edged weapon being held to his throat. He gave up.

He was soon tied up by the demon woman as the others put wood on the fire. He sat, resigned to his fate of death. Youko had been right. He had been too impulsive. And now he was going to die.

"Who are you?" a harsh voice asked. It came from his right, so it was the demon woman.

"Yomi," he answered. No point in not saying anything now.

"Why did you want the Shikon no Tama?" This time it was from the left, the human boy.

He kept his mouth shut on this one. His mistakes were embarrassing enough without having to tell the disgrace of his blindness.

The human miko finally spoke up. She was in front of him, and he had almost been able to feel her scrutiny. She was the leader of this group, he could tell. She had Youko's aura of authority around her, without his ruthlessness. "He's blind."

Yomi winced. Apparently she had been able to discern more than he wanted. The human boy spoke again. "The jewel shards are no substitute for true healing. They are a medium through which you can be controlled, and they only provide a false healing. The instant they are taken away, you are right back where you began."

Yomi could hear something in the boy's voice which told him he was speaking the truth as he believed it. Yomi however didn't want to believe it. "You're lying, boy. The jewel grants wishes."

"Only the completed jewel," the miko said.

"If I could temporarily solve my blindness, obtaining the rest of the jewel would not be difficult, miko," Yomi countered.

"How do you know who is who if you can't see? How did you avoid tripping over someone without knowing where they were?" the demon questioned.

"You all have pretty distinct auras, even the little human boy brat," Yomi said, shrugging.

The miko sighed. "How about this? If you promise not to kidnap or harm anyone in trying to get the jewel shards, I won't kill you if you continue to keep trying to take it from me. If you want, you'll be allowed to eat from whatever we have available, though Kohaku requires that anyone who eats contributes."

"Kagome, I think we need to have a quick talk. In private," Mukuro said sternly, a hint of censure in her voice.

Yomi waited, working on his ropes as he strained to hear the conversation. Somehow, however, they knew how far away to go so that he couldn't hear them.

In a small clearing not far from Yomi, but far enough so that he should hopefully not overhear them, the three talked.

"Are you crazy, Kagome? What kind of deal is that?" Mukuro said, hand on her hips.

"You think we should trust him that much just like this? Just because he's blind doesn't mean he's weak," Kohaku added.

"We know that. He doesn't. He thinks that being blind means he's weak. However, I think that in trying to get the shards from me, by the time he can get them he won't need them," Kagome replied.

"You think he's just going to let them go because he doesn't need them? All demons want them!" Mukuro countered.

"I do," Kagome replied. "Besides, if he agrees, the only one he'll be going after is me. You two won't have to worry about it."

"We're worried about you!" Kohaku replied, "You are deliberately putting yourself in harm's way when you can just kill him." Kohaku's voice broke halfway through the sentence. It had been happening very often lately, as if now that the shards where gone, his body was trying to catch up on the time it had lost being kept in stasis. He also thought he had grown an inch or two, then he didn't want to say anything.

Kagome blinked, as if she hadn't thought of that. Then she smiled. "I'm fighting against Sesshoumaru everyday, and you're worrying about Yomi? Even when he could see, I'm guessing that he would be no match for Sesshoumaru."

"All it takes is one mistake, Kagome," Mukuro admonished.

"Like helping a wounded demon without knowing who she is?" Kagome asked.

Mukuro didn't miss a beat. "Exactly. You're starting to understand my side of it."

Kagome sighed. "If you really don't think this is a good idea, fine, but I refuse to let anyone kill him in cold blood."

"But then he's," Mukuro stopped for a moment, "just going to attack again."

"Exactly," Kagome said, smiling in triumph, "this way, we keep good will with him, and if he is at all honorable he'll remember that we spared him and do us the favor of listening to our wishes."

"She has a point, Mukuro," Kohaku said, though he didn't seem that happy about it. What would his father say? First he was controlled by demons, and then he was making friends with them.

"Very well," Mukuro said. "Are you that sure that you can keep him from getting the jewel?"

Kagome didn't say anything, just smiled and turned to go back to camp.

When they arrived there, they found Yomi still there, but out of his ropes sitting calmly on the ground.

"I guess I should expect as much," Kagome said ruefully.

"A thief that couldn't escape from those knots would indeed be a poor thief," Yomi said, smiling slightly.

"So, what do you think?" Kagome asked.

"I think you have an ulterior motive," Yomi said. "I'm not going to give up on getting my sight back, no matter how nice you are to me. And I won't hold back."

"I expect it. Are you hungry? We have plenty of leftovers from last night," Kagome said.

"You did," Yomi said. "It was very good."

"Thank you," Kohaku said, trying to be polite. Beside him, Mukuro frowned, but Yomi couldn't see that, so it wasn't an issue.

"I'll just be on my way, then," Yomi said, and stood up. He walked out of the clearing, limping slightly from the fight that had taken his eye sight just less then two weeks before.

"Kagome, do you always attract these kinds of people?" Mukuro said, sitting back in her spot.

"I don't know. In my old group, Inuyasha tried to kill me, Shippou stole the jewel, Miroku tried to abduct me, stole the jewel, and tried to suck Inuyasha into his kazanna, and Sango tried to kill Inuyasha. About the only one who didn't try anything was Kirara," Kagome said. She hadn't thought about it that way before. It was almost scary.

Mukuro sighed and turned over, "I figured as much," and went to sleep.

"Good night, Kagome," Kohaku said.

"Good night. I hope you sleep well tonight," Kagome said, a wistful smile on her face. Kohaku shrugged. They both knew he wouldn't. It was when he was sleeping that his memories truly haunted him. Memories of being trapped, watching as Naraku had used his body to do terrible things. He wasn't sure if he would ever again get a good night's rest.

Yomi would often appear from nowhere, and it soon became a game between the two. He even sometimes succeeded, surprisingly Kagome badly. Sadly, however, Kagome didn't react very well to being surprised. She'd leap up into the air drawing which ever weapon she could grab first. The first time it had happened Mukuro and Kohaku had come running, only to see a chuckling Yomi and an embarrassed Kagome. She had landed flat on the ground, naginata across her lap. Once Mukuro and Kohaku found out what had happened, they had laughed too. The second time it happened, though, Yomi tried to attack. The fight had ended quickly, but as Yomi skills at sneaking up to Kagome improved, so did his skills at sensing things around him. He was starting to see creatures now, and had gotten used to using where they were to more easily navigate through the trees. Sometimes, he even thought he could sense the energy of the trees, though it seemed very different from the energy of those who moved. Very slow, very patient with so little movement it was hard to discern it from all the other energies he could sense.

One of Yomi's favorite things to do was to surprise her when she was taking a bath. His ears had rung the first time, her shrill screams echoing around in his head, but it had been worth it to listen to her indignation. It had taken her four minutes to remember that he couldn't even see her. By then she had already thrown pebbles at him, for lack of anything else. She had also apologized. Yomi didn't tell her that even to begin with, he could see her as she was. The strengthening of this new sense only filled in a few of the details. Yomi was really starting to actually enjoy seeing things this way.

Kagome had gotten used to the routine. She was pretty happy, actually. She looked horrible, her days were filled with trying to defeat Sesshoumaru who just now had started having to really work to avoid her, and after a day of long fighting she had to help cook dinner, fend off a demon who tried to steal the jewel from her, sometimes have a lesson with Kikyou, go to sleep, wake up early and have cold leftovers for breakfast, and begin all over again. Her body constantly ached, and she often felt hunger, because while Kohaku did his best, it was winter. She couldn't eat during the day, and breakfast and dinner weren't always filling. However, she had new friends, really good ones. Mukuro was quiet, though she didn't hesitate to give her normally strong opinion. Kohaku, too, was quiet, but Kagome could often see signs of the cheerful boy he must have been, especially with Rin around. Sesshoumaru was, well, himself, and Rin was a dear, though she didn't get to talk to her that often. Jaken was annoying, but she started to see that some of it was a well-developed defense mechanism. Of course, he actually believed a lot of the stuff he spouted, but she had seen his face when he thought Rin had gotten hurt. Of course, she still deeply missed her family and other feudal friends, but she was finally able to stop pretending that there was a part of her that didn't exist.

However, the past few days she had been getting a bad feeling. Kikyou hadn't come by, and Sesshoumaru distracted her with other things whenever she asked about Naraku. And now Yomi hadn't come by. He normally popped up at least once or twice a day, and he had disappeared. She couldn't even sense him. And she had been feeling a strange sickness to the North, one that felt suspiciously like Naraku.

After the fifth day where no Yomi appeared and the eighth day with no news from Kikyou, Kagome, who had been muttering under her breath for days now, annoying Mukuro and even Kohaku, snapped. She was sick of this, and she wanted to go see if she could find Naraku. She wouldn't attack, but she would make sure she knew where he was. At least, that's what she told herself.

She went through the day like normal, pretending nothing was wrong. Her smiles might have been a bit too bright, but the others were just grateful that her distraction had mostly passed, though Kohaku did give her a few strange looks.

That evening, Kagome looked over at Mukuro. She was lying on her back, looking up at the stars. "Mukuro?"

"Yes?" Mukuro asked.

Kagome smiled innocently. "Would you mind if I go off to look for Yomi? I'm sure explaining things to Sesshoumaru would be relatively easy, and I'm sure I'll be back in a few days."

Mukuro sat straight up and looked at Kagome incredulously, "You're kidding!" she said. "We should be glad he hasn't come. And you want me to stay here and explain things while you have a holiday?"

"Please, I'm worried about him. Just because his eye sight is improving doesn't mean that he can't easily be gotten rid of. You know you don't think he's dangerous anymore. It should be safe for me to go and figure out where he went." Kagome wheedled.

"Just because he acts nice it doesn't mean that he isn't still dangerous," Mukuro muttered.

"It wouldn't be wise to split up," Kohaku said, and his glance seemed knowing to Kagome. She squirmed slightly and turned her attention to Mukuro.

"I'm leaving. I'm not going to stay unless someone looks for him, and you don't like him," Kagome said.

Mukuro had to suppress the urge to knock Kagome unconscious. "Would you stay put with Kohaku if I go?" she asked.

Kagome resisted the urge to smirk. She needed to get away from Sesshoumaru and Mukuro. She hadn't wanted to take Kohaku at first, but after she had thought about it, she realized he wouldn't want to be left out and he would help, having been in Naraku's service. So, step one done. Get rid of Mukuro. "But," she trailed off for effect.

"There isn't going to be anything wrong with that bandit, and you'll realize how stupid you are being. We'll be back by morning if I have to drag his dead carcass back myself," Mukuro complained, and got up and left immediately.

Kagome smiled in relief as she felt the demonic aura of her friend go further and further away from the camp. Kohaku watched her face, thinking, then finally spoke. "You're sending her away. You're worried."

Kagome, who had planned on telling him anyways, leaned back and closed her eyes. "Yes. Mukuro has not fought with Naraku yet. It's better that way."

Kohaku, who had been leaning on a rock, sat up, almost looking excited. "You sense him? Really?"

"It's probably a trap. I think he wants his jewel shard back," Kagome said, picking up what she had so far. It maybe equaled a third of the jewel, not as much as she had before Kikyou had liberated it, so to speak, but enough so that Naraku would be feeling its absence.

"Still," Kohaku said, "you're stronger now. I'm stronger now, and not under his control. And Kagura wouldn't do much to stop us, if she thought we had a chance of at least really hurting Naraku. She wants him dead."

"What? You're kidding! She seems to enjoy doing what he wants her too!" Kagome protested.

"I'm not saying she doesn't mind killing people. She just doesn't like being told what to do," Kohaku said. Kagura definitely wasn't a saint. She had enjoyed playing with the wolf demon tribe, and enjoyed messing with people's lives. He wasn't sure what she would do if she were freed, but she wasn't half the threat Naraku was, and he thought that she wasn't really the kind of person to want to bother with people if they didn't get in her way. She would hate being a ruler. Responsibility would tie her down just as much as Naraku did.

Kagome brightened. "If we got her free, would she help us?" Kagome asked.

Kohaku shook his head. "She'd probably either try to get somebody else after Naraku, or do it herself. She's really protective of Kanna, too. I think she considers Kanna her little sister," Kohaku said.

"What about Kanna?" Kagome asked.

Kohaku shivered. "She doesn't have a soul. Kagura's heart is in Naraku's control, that is why she obeys him, but Kanna obeys Naraku simply because she just can't imagine doing anything else. I'm not sure which I feel sorrier for."

Kagome shook her head in amazement. She couldn't decide which would be worse either. Having no choice, or not even having the knowledge to make a choice. "Does Kanna have a soul?" she asked.

"I'm not sure. Knowing Naraku, he might keep it around to look at and gloat over, but on the other hand he might just not have bothered with it in the first place," Kohaku said.

"Either way, I'm going to go investigate. You can stay here, if you want," Kagome said.

Kohaku's face grew slightly still, "I'm going. I'm definitely not staying here."

Kagome sighed. She hated having to do this, with him so young and everything, but he deserved it. "Okay. Please be careful, I don't want Sango to lose her brother before she even knows she has him back again."

The next morning Sesshoumaru arrived to find the fire cold and its occupants long gone. He looked away to where he knew Naraku was, ignoring the girl tugging at his pants worriedly.

"Lord Sesshoumaru, where is Kohaku and everyone?" Rin questioned.

"Jaken," Sesshoumaru said.

Jaken, who had been poking around in the fire pit, grumbling to himself, looked up. "Yes, Lord?"

"Watch Rin," and Sesshoumaru sped off.

Jaken and Rin looked at each other, alone together again. It was time once more for Jaken vs. Rin! Would Rin carry off yet another victory, or would Jaken manage to turn around his losing streak? Rin grinned slowly, and Jaken gulped. Maybe the outcome wasn't that hard to figure out.

Kagome and Kohaku, meanwhile, were getting close to Naraku's hide out. It was once again a feudal castle, and Kagura was sitting on a tree outside, playing with a feather. A wasp hovered over her, buzzing angrily. Kagura said something to it, and it left, leaving the distinct impression it was annoyed.

They ignored this however, and continued to move around the perimeter. As they left, Kagura smiled slightly. A freed Kohaku and someone who had the skills of the warrior and the powers of purification. This would be interesting.

They came to a spot where there were no lower demons hanging around, and Kohaku led Kagome into the building. The corridors seemed endless, and Kagome almost had a heart attack when they went by Kanna. She looked at them, but then looked away, blank eyes uncaring. Kohaku took his hand off Kagome's mouth, and Kagome let out a small sigh of relief. She had almost screamed there.

"Thanks," she whispered to Kohaku.

He smiled at her then continued on. Suddenly, they came to what felt like the source of the darkness, at least to Kagome's senses, as well as where she could tell most of the jewel was. The door panel opened, releasing a foul breeze. They gagged slightly and looked into the darkness.

"Naraku!" Kagome shouted, trying to overcome her fear and sound as confident as Inuyasha. Kohaku grabbed her arm tightly, but no reply came. They went through the door, and the only thing to be seen was a dark room that seemed to stretch forever, with tendrils of miasma creeping up and adding to the noxious air in the room. Kohaku put his mask on, looking worriedly at Kagome, but she wasn't affected, keeping the air around her purified now that she knew about it. They started to walk towards the end of the room, and about when they reached the midpoint the attack began, with Naraku's tentacles coming at them from all sides.

In another of part of Japan, Mukuro cursed. She hadn't been paying attention to her surroundings and had walked right into a thorn thicket. To add to her fun, Yomi had popped up out of nowhere and started laughing at her.

"Stop laughing and do something!" Mukuro yelled, exasperated.

"Why should I—" Yomi's voice died off. "Kagome," he said, and turned around, walking off.

"Kagome? What's the matter with Kagome? Come back here!" Mukuro yelled, finally breaking free from the thorns' embrace.

"Her aura," Yomi said, continuing to walk forward at a quick pace. "She's having a serious battle, and not one with Lord Sesshoumaru."

Mukuro sped up, cursing under her breath. Kagome was a magnet for trouble. "Where have you been, anyways? Kagome was worried about you!"

"She was?" Yomi asked, slightly surprised.

"It wasn't like I was getting myself stuck in thorn thickets for my health," Mukuro said testily, "I'm going on ahead, you might want to meander around, but Kagome has a serious enemy after her," and Mukuro took off.

Yomi absorbed the facts for a moment. "Kagome was worried about me. How curious. And who is this mysterious enemy Mukuro seems to think is so dangerous?"

In yet another part of Japan, Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, Shippou, and Kirara were wandering around. With Kagome's disappearance, in addition to having nothing but Kikyou's word that she was safe and not there of her own choice, a lot of tension had grown in the group. Despite Inuyasha's trust in Kikyou, they continued to search for Kagome for the first few months, with even Inuyasha not really saying anything since he was worried about Kagome as well. As time passed, Myouga began to bring them rumors of a miko that guarded the jewel shards, whose deadly aim had been the death of many demons. Later, they heard that there was a demon that traveled with her, and a small myth began to grow about them. The two guardians of death: one who was a beautiful fighter, wielding death with grace and beauty that entranced all that watched her, and the other, a demon that was ugly because her appearance was one of an obviously destroyed beauty, and she fought with pure power, laying her opponents down quickly and efficiently. Inuyasha and the others tried to find the two, but they moved around so much that it was hard to catch up, especially since they didn't have someone with the ability to sense jewel shards anymore. They weren't even sure if it was really Kagome or not, though the fact that the miko had made friends with a demon did increase the chances.

They might have even caught up, but they were distracted along the way, helping villages in need, especially when the trouble involved a jewel shard. Fights lasted longer without Kagome's assistance when there truly was a jewel shard involved, but that hadn't happened very often. They hadn't had any encounters with Naraku or his offspring either, a fact that grated on everyone's nerves.

So it was that when Inuyasha stopped dead, sniffing the air, the entire group froze, hoping for good news. Even when Inuyasha announced that it was Naraku, not the miko they had been hoping for, they eagerly got ready to fight. His appearance after so long an absence was a relief.

Naraku, apparently, wasn't actually that far from them. It was only about twenty minutes before they reached the scene. By the time they got there, however, it was over. The castle was destroyed; Naraku and his minions gone. Well, all except one. Inuyasha identified the woman at Kohaku's feet immediately as Kagome, and Sango tightened her grip on her weapon, her heart once again breaking at the thought of what Kohaku had done, and readied herself to defend her friend from her own flesh and blood.

End of Chapter

Hey, don't look at me like that! I was planning on ending it as Kagome and Kohaku reached the castle for a good cliffhanger, but you can thank Tsubasa Kya, a great author as well as a great friend of mine, that said that I can always stick another cliffhanger in there later. Or at least that was how I choose to interpret it. I figured it wouldn't hurt to bulk up the word count either.

Okay, about the absence. Well, I kind of used it to relax, and then kind of started writing some on my other fanfiction ideas. I might start posting them in a little, but I want to at least finish this segment of the Fire series first. I'm hoping to have it finished somewhere between the end of this year and February, so expect updates about once or twice a month. In addition to that, for those who don't know this, **Tsubasa and I have started to coauthor a fanfiction together**. We were just messing around on MSN, and after our first, rather long writing session, we kind of looked at what we wrote and said, "This is too funny not to post." Lo and behold, there you go. We haven't posted much yet so far, but that is partially because the reviews so far have been slim in number. We have between 40,000 to 50,000 words so far, just waiting for our final approval. Take a look (our profile is feline mischief, and is almost as funny as the actual story) and tell us what you think. It is of course, a Kagome/Hiei fanfiction (eventually, the characters are being a bit contrary at the moment and fighting a lot) so I hope you'll enjoy it.

Thank everyone again for their immense patience. The amount of reviews and hits I've received feel very rewarding as an author, and I hope to have your continued support. You'll never know how much it means to me to have such great readers who've persevered through my writing as it improved over the course of Going up in Flames, my aborted attempts at Fire and Before the Fire, and most importantly, my rather sporadic updates. I don't get how everyone has had the patience to put up with this, but I will never stop working on this until it is finished. Thank you so much.

Bonus:

Omake:

Jaken gulped nervously. He had just been left alone with Rin.

n. Again. He gathered his courage, settled his staff firmly on the ground, and opened his mouth to squawk his first order. However, he had waited too long.

"Master Jaken, do you think everyone is okay? Are Kohaku and Kagome and Mukuro going to be okay? Did Lord Sesshoumaru go to help them? When will they be back?" Rin said, deciding to start with a solid barrage.

Jaken was already starting to get dizzy. "Foolish girl! Why would Lord Sesshoumaru go to rescue worthless humans and an ugly demon? And what makes you think the humans will come back? They're probably already dead."

Bad move by Jaken! Rin's bottom lip started to tremble. "They're not really dead? Master Jaken? Lord Sesshoumaru wouldn't let them die, would he?" Tears started to run down her face.

Ah Un, who was standing right by them, turned his heads and snorted on Jaken. Jaken, however, was worried about something else.

Jaken swallowed, hard. He couldn't stand to see Rin crying. Even though she was a pitiful human girl who diverted Lord Sesshoumaru's attention from serious matters, she had grown on him. "I'm," he swallowed hard again, "I'm sure they're going to be okay. After all, Sesshoumaru's" and here was the hard thing to admit, "trained them, hasn't he?"

Rin immediately brightened. "Really? Thank you Master Jaken! I'm going to go look for some flowers for everyone when they come back!"

"Rin, wait! Wait! We're supposed to stay right here! RIN!" Jaken screamed in his shrill voice.

"Not again," he moaned, "it's winter! Where is she going to find flowers?!" From a distance, it was possible to hear a child-like peal of laughter. Rin had once again won the round. Rin, 68, Jaken, 1.

End again!


	6. Chapter 6

Acknowledgements: First I must mention my editor Adrasteia Wen who is a wonderful editor and I truly appreciate the time she spends on my chapters (I've been too afraid to ask how much that actually is…) and not only is she a wonderful editor, she's a wonderful writer! Go check out her stories, if you haven't read them before! Also, thank you to Tsubasa Kya. I'd say I'd feel sorry for making her listen to all of the time I've spent jabbering away at her about my stories, but since we both enjoy it so much and I really don't feel any remorse about it, I won't! And I couldn't have a true Acknowledgement section without including my older brother brindani, for introducing me to both anime and fanfiction. Without him, well, this story would literally not exist! He's also a great author though he has sadly not ventured into the realm of Inuyasha yet, though he's been known to frequently lurk in Ranma ½ and Evangelion. Sometimes he's even been sighted in Noir. Oh, and of course, Tsubasa's a great author as well, though I'm sure you already knew that!

I don't know how many of you actually read all of my acknowledgments, but you should at least check out the authors listed therein! They're all very talented, and I'm lucky to either be their friends or related to them!

Disclaimer: This is getting tedious. I don't own, and unless Rumiko Takahashi and whoever writes Yu Yu Hakusho is reading this, neither do you. Get over it and read the story, because that's the point of the whole thing and I doubt any of you are even bothering with this anyways!

**Fire's Awakening**

_Chapter Six_

Kohaku knelt by Kagome, feeling her forehead. The fight had been fast and intense, with Naraku attacking fiercely from all corners. Together they had managed to keep the tentacles back, and tried to attack Naraku. That was when it fell apart. Naraku had tried to absorb Kagome, apparently willing to add some human to the mix if it would give him more jewel shards and the power to resist being purified. Kagome tried to purify the what could only be called gloop that tried to cover her, but every time she did, more just came to cover her, and Kohaku could barely help, resorting to doing the best he could to keep as much of it away from her as was possible. Kagome had come close to suffocating, and had finally engulfed her entire body with her energy and sent a flood of it towards Naraku. He escaped, but at least Kagome had survived. That was probably why she hadn't used the attack to begin with, since now she was unconscious. Of course, she didn't look that good anyways, covered in burns from the gloop. Kohaku sighed, biting his lip. It didn't help that Naraku had laughed as he floated away, bringing his castle with him.

Kohaku stood up, and was about to pick her up when he heard a shout of anger from someone he had been dreading to see.

"Kohaku! Step away from Kagome!" Sango yelled, ready to hurl her weapon at Kohaku.

"She's hurt," Kohaku said back, kneeling back down and avoiding his sister's eyes. "I need to help her, Sango."

Everyone stopped dead in their tracks. Kohaku had never remembered Sango's name. Never.

Sango stepped forward, hand leaving her weapon to be placed in front of her mouth, trying to hold back the flood that wished to erupt. Kirara, though, had no such inhibitions, and leapt forward, transforming into her smaller form midair and landing in Kohaku's arms, purring delightedly and rubbing his chest.

"Hello, Kirara," Kohaku whispered. "It's good to see you."

This last act erased any doubt from the groups' minds. Sango let out a whimper and ran forward, colliding with her brother and knocking him to the ground. She started sobbing onto his shoulder as she hugged him, while a very disgruntled Kirara tried to wiggle from between the two.

Kohaku blushed slightly, putting his arms around Sango slowly. "Sango," he whispered, and hugged her almost as hard as she was clutching at him. Tears started to slid down his cheek despite his best efforts, and he buried his face into Sango's shoulder to hide his tears. Inuyasha stood dumbfounded but smiling, Miroku grinned, and Shippou jumped up and down on Miroku's shoulder, excited.

"I'm sorry," Kohaku whispered, voice muffled, "I tried to break free, I really did."

"I know Kohaku! I know!" Sango was completely overcome by the situation. Kohaku hugged her again, tightly, and then pushed her away from him slightly.

"Sango, Kagome's hurt. We need to get her somewhere warm," Kohaku said. This brought Sango and everyone else back to the present, and Sango's tears slowly stopped falling as she looked at her friend at her feet. She was breathing shallowly, face pale. Burn marks and small lacerations with burned edges covered her body, and beyond that Kagome looked too thin, and too worn. Sango inhaled slightly from shock.

"What happened?" she asked, touching Kagome's cheek gently as if in disbelief that it was truly her friend in front of her.

"Naraku tried to absorb her," Kohaku said, wiping his forehead. He was injured, too, mostly bruises from landing hard and a few minor cuts.

"But she's a human," Sango protested, as the others came over. Shippou stood by her head, patting Kagome's cheek gently and trying to get her to wake up, but Miroku pulled him away.

"She needs rest," he explained. The entire group looked at Kagome, absorbing the fact that they had finally found her. They had never really known how much Kagome did and how much she was a part of the group until she was gone, and she was sorely missed. Even to have her back in this condition was a blessing.

Inuyasha finally grunted, and said, "There was an old abandoned hut we passed just a little while back there. Let's get her warmed up."

Inuyasha picked her up while Sango stood up, Miroku offering her a hand. Kohaku stood up as well, groaning a little. He stood stiffly but didn't say a word. Sango's lips tightened a little in concern, but her friend was obviously in worse condition. Sango and Kohaku boarded Kirara; Miroku offered to run while carrying Shippou, giving the two siblings a moment to themselves.

The snow on the ground slowed the earthbound ones a little, but not much, and soon they were at the abandoned shed. Miroku went to get firewood while the others crowded around Kagome. Well, Inuyasha tried to, but Sango sent him off the help Miroku.

Kohaku turned away as Sango started to look at her friend's wounds, slightly embarrassed that Sango was doing that while he was around. "I'm going to go get some water," he said, and grabbed a pot from Sango's bag and left quickly.

Sango smiled slightly. She hadn't wanted to let him out of her sight, but her brother was as shy as always, and the water would be good anyways. She started to gather the herbs Kaede had given them for burns and applied them gently then wrapped them up. Soon Kohaku was back with the water and the others with the wood, and the fire burned merrily, warming up the small hut quickly. The water was soon hot enough that Sango could clean Kagome's wounds before she bandaged them, and the males were once again banished to Inuyasha's displeasure, Miroku's disappointment, and Kohaku's relief.

"What happened to Kagome, kid?" Inuyasha asked, "And how'd you meet up with her? During the battle?"

Kohaku knew of Inuyasha but didn't really know him, so giving him a satisfactory answer was something he was unsure he could do. "Kagome could tell the story better than I could," Kohaku said, shifting uncomfortably. Inuyasha opened his mouth to demand answers, but with a pointed glare from Miroku he subsided. Soon they were once again allowed in, and Kohaku huddled in a corner, blanket wrapped around him. He was very uneasy, looking around at all these new people who knew what he had done. He hoped dearly that Kagome would wake soon.

Shippou bounded over to the much taller boy and jumped into his lap. Kohaku bit back a muffled yelp, for he landed on one of Kohaku's bruises.

Sango had had enough. "That's it, Kohaku, I know you're hurt too, so let me look at it."

Miroku and Inuyasha, who had been talking quietly in the corner, looked over.

"I'm sorry," Shippou said, feeling guilty and getting off Kohaku's lap to stand by him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Kohaku said, looking away from everyone.

"I can smell the blood from here," Inuyasha said pointedly.

"They're just scratches. He was trying to absorb Kagome; he didn't want me," Kohaku said, still not looking at him. He was growing increasingly more uncomfortable.

Sango opened her mouth, most likely to use her authority as his older sister, but was interrupted. Mukuro, who had followed Yomi's lead to this hut, burst in the door, fists raised and ready for a fight.

Before the others could react, Kohaku leapt up and ran over to Mukuro, grateful for another familiar face, "Mukuro, what are you doing here? Did you find Yomi?"

The others were gaping at the scene, and their shock worsened as Yomi stepped in besides Mukuro. Kohaku smiled up at them.

"Hey, kid," Yomi said, and ruffled Kohaku's hair a little.

"Your sight's getting better!" Kohaku said. "You normally miss it your first time. And stop that!"

"I was practicing," Yomi said. "What happened when I was gone?"

"Stop acting like this whole thing is ordinary, Yomi, you're just—" and Mukuro looked around at the other people who were staring at the little reunion with wide eyes. Mukuro had been planning on saying "you're just another demon after the jewel," but in present company that might not be a wise thing to do. She mumbled something and backed off, turning her attention to Kohaku. "What happened?"

"What happened?" Inuyasha asked in disbelief. "What is going on here?!" Kohaku, though InuYasha wanted to know how he had somehow managed to remember everything, was one thing, but now two unknown demons just barge in here? Not when he could do something about it.

Kohaku turned around, looking uncomfortable. "Um, this is Mukuro and Yomi. They've been traveling with Kagome."

"How the—" Inuyasha stopped and looked at Mukuro a little more closely. "Wait a moment, you must be…that means…" he gaped at Mukuro, looking from her to Kagome. "You two couldn't be the two women that's been terrifying demons!"

"I don't know anything about terrifying," Mukuro began.

Yomi interrupted under his breath, "Yeah, right."

Mukuro glared at him. "Shut up. We've only been getting rid of the ones after the jewel shards."

Inuyasha gaped slightly. It had been his best lead, but the two women were quickly becoming legends among the lesser demons and to think Kagome might have been one of them was so unreal. He looked at the weapons lying besides Kagome, trying to reconcile the two. Even though he had been told and they had hypothesized, it was another thing to be given evidence.

Miroku looked around. The situation was getting more and more tense, and Kagome needed her rest. "Everyone, I'm sure Kagome will explain everything when she wakes up. Until then, let's not fight and awaken her in such an unpleasant manner."

And so it was, five hours later, that Kagome awakened to a hut full of grumpy demons and an even grumpier half demon, a sleeping kitsune, and three very quiet humans.

Kagome's soft moan directed all attention towards her. Kagome sat up slowly, trying to remember what happened and why there was a mattress under her. She looked around, and froze as she saw everyone's attention directed towards her.

Then almost everyone began talking at once. Shippou, who had awakened, jumped on Kagome's lap and started chattering about everything he and the others had been doing. Mukuro and Yomi started to ask about what had happened after they had left. Inuyasha and the others wanted to know what had happened and why she had left in the first place. The only silent ones were Kohaku and Kirara. Kagome's headache started to grow, and she started to feel dizzy as she tried to absorb where she was, what had happened, and why everyone was here.

Miroku had stopped talking after realizing that almost everyone else was, and watched as Kagome's face turned an even more unhealthy shade of white. She looked like hell as it was, and it was getting ridiculous. He rapped his staff on the ground, the thump and ringing sound bringing everyone's attention to him. "Enough. Kagome is feeling bad enough without everyone here badgering her. I'm sure Kagome would be willing to explain once she gets something to eat and some peace. I can expel everyone who is being loud if it is required."

Everyone looked at him, then at Kagome, feeling guilty. She blushed under their scrutiny, but smiled at Miroku. "Thanks," she whispered.

"My pleasure," Miroku said, giving a slight bow. Everyone started to apologize, and were again silenced by Miroku. They all stayed quiet, and as Miroku made some Ramen that Inuyasha had fetched from the future, the silence almost became oppressive. Kagome couldn't get herself to eat anything, with everyone starting at her.

"How about I explain, then," Kagome's voice died off with Miroku and Mukuro's glare, "um, never mind." She ate quickly, unable to enjoy the food. She laid it aside, and leaned against the wall. It was a small hut, dust everywhere, but it was warm, and Kagome was warmer than she had been in months.

"Where'd you go?" Inuyasha asked, not willing to ask why yet.

"I received an offer to train with someone, and I knew I'd only be a dead weight if I stayed with you longer. This way I could train more diligently and be ready to help more quickly," Kagome said. "And I knew the person I would be training with was highly experienced."

"So you just walked off with him, just like that?! Leaving all of your supplies behind and not even asking us?" Inuyasha said. "Kami, that is stupid!"

Kagome tried to think of how to say she didn't really have a choice to begin with without saying she hadn't had a choice. It had really been practically kidnapping, but she would love to see Inuyasha's reaction if she told him that, especially when he found out whom exactly it was she had been training with.

"Um…I kinda sorta didn't have a choice," Kagome finally said.

"So you were kidnapped? I knew it!" Inuyasha shouted triumphantly. "Who was it so I can beat him?"

Kagome wished she could sweat drop like an anime character. "Um, I think I won't tell you right now. But it was safer for everyone else if I stayed away awhile to receive training."

"What do you mean?" Shippou asked, eyes looking up at her with sadness. "You'd never hurt us."

Kagome gulped slightly, concentrating on Shippou to avoid everyone else's gaze. "I had the jewel shards. If I wasn't with people, they would be less likely to be attacked."

Inuyasha snorted. "If that ain't the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Someone runs off with you and offers to train you, and you decide to stay with this guy to save us? If you ever pull something like this again, I'm going to put a leash on you and tie you up."

Mukuro glowered at Inuyasha. "Don't be rude! She was just trying to help! She didn't want to be a dead weight to you guys."

"What right do you have to talk? You known Kagome for what, five, six months? We're her friends and she should trust us to help her no matter what!" Inuyasha burst out, and then blushed as he realized what he said.

"Inuyasha's right. We don't care if you put us in more danger; that is what friends are for. Please Kagome, trust us and believe in us. We can help," Sango said, looking at her with reproachful eyes.

Miroku put his hand on Kagome's shoulder and she looked up at him. He could have cried seeing her face. She looked like she had been through much hardship over the past six months, and it tore at his heart. "Kagome, remember what we agreed to in the forest? It's my duty to help you out."

Mukuro decided to jump in. "And you better not have known about Naraku before you sent me off to look for Yomi."

Kagome turned her attention to Mukuro and gulped. "Um," she said. Seeing Mukuro's darkening face, Kagome continued on, "Naraku's isn't your problem! He's never done anything to you and I didn't want you to get hurt!"

Inuyasha decided to jump in again. "You are an idiot. You've been fighting with this girl and supposedly make a great team, and you decide to go face Naraku alone?"

"Kohaku went with me," Kagome said, feeling very rebuked.

"How long has Kohaku been with you?" Sango asked, a question that had been burning within her ever since Kohaku had gone up to two demons she had never seen before in her life and acted as if they knew each other well.

Kagome thought a moment. "I'm not sure. A while, now. About half the time I've been gone. He doesn't have jewel shards anymore, and he's made a complete recovery from his injuries."

"Kohaku?" Sango asked, turning to look at him with a slightly hurt expression.

Kohaku looked at his feet. "I needed some time, Sango," he said quietly, "I'd been trapped in my mind, watching my body do these things, and I needed a chance to learn who I was again. I knew you were friends with Kagome, and when I broke free I went to her because I knew where she was and that she could help me."

"What do you mean full recovery?" Sango asked, turning back to Kagome.

Kagome's face turned solemn. "Kohaku had two shards, one to keep his wounds closed, and one for keeping the pain away. When I took them out at his request, all of his wounds from that night reopened."

Sango's face turned pale. "You managed to save him?" Sango asked in disbelief. "He was so badly wounded."

"All right, that's it," Yomi said, "I'm confused. Kagome was traveling with you guys. Then she decided to train with," here he paused, having gathered that Kagome didn't want them to know quite yet who she trained with, "him. She met Mukuro, then Kohaku, then me. I went off for a little while to work on my sight, Mukuro comes looking for me and is ambushed by a thorn thicket, and meanwhile Kagome fights with some guy named Naraku. Am I right?"

"About," Kagome acknowledged.

"Okay then. All questions can be saved for later then. Kagome's aura feels just as worn out as it did before she went to sleep. Get some rest so we can get back to our game, Kagome. I've been practicing," Yomi smiled.

Kagome, who had been steadily growing more exhausted, smiled back. "I knew you were a good guy, Yomi."

Kagome recovered pretty quickly. The burns and lacerations weren't as bad as they looked, and with regular meals and a break from being chased all over the place she looked better then she had in months. Group dynamics, however, were still being settled. Mukuro and Inuyasha tended to get in fights, though Mukuro quickly made friends with Sango and Shippou. She got along with Miroku as well, though that might have been because Miroku didn't grope her. She didn't approve of how he went after Sango, though, and gave him no sympathy. Yomi, however, made good friends with Miroku, but not as well with Sango or Inuyasha. Kohaku, of course, was accepted quickly by everyone, once they stopped trying to make sure he was all right. Inuyasha, however, did not like the new additions, and was still grumpy about how much Kagome had gone over his head.

When Kagome found out how long she had been gone, she had almost had a heart attack. She was relieved to find out that Kikyou had told Inuyasha that she was all right, but refused to answer any questions about how well she knew Kikyou. As soon as she could walk and didn't look so horrible, she insisted on returning immediately to the well much to Inuyasha's displeasure, though he remembered how worried Kagome's mother had looked, and didn't mind too much as long as Kagome came back within ten days just like she promised.

"And if you are late I'm coming and kidnapping you back, since you apparently don't mind being kidnapped," he grumbled as she got ready to return to her time.

"Thank you, Inuyasha," Kagome said, and hugged him right before she turned around and leapt down the well. He blushed, and left quickly to everyone else's amusement.

Kagome looked up at the shed roof, nervous about her reception. She climbed out and walked into the courtyard. She was spotted by her grandfather, who dropped the broom and ran over quickly, yelling, "Kagome's back!" Soon the entire family was hugging and laughing. Though Kagome's appearance had improved over the past four days, she still looked lean and battle weary. "There's oden on the table," her mother said, and Kagome followed eagerly.

Souta, however, complained. "We've had oden so many times since you've been gone I'll get sick if I eat another bowl!" Of course, contrary to his words he dug in almost as quickly as Kagome. Kagome stuffed herself, leaning back with a happy sigh of relief.

"Souta, why don't you go help Grandpa with the dishes?" Mrs. Higurashi asked.

Souta didn't complain at all, though his grandfather did. Soon, though, they had left the room. Kagome looked sharply at her mother, and her face fell when she saw the look on her mother's expression. "More letters?" Kagome asked.

"Yes. Kagome, I'm getting worried. This guy knew what you were going to do when you were fourteen when he kidnapped you, and he's been sending letters since then. I hate not having you here, but it might be safer if you leave quickly again. He can't get you back there, and your friends protect you. You must succeed if this person is so concerned about you continuing to go back," Mrs. Higurashi said.

Kagome bit her lip. "Did he send more photos?"

"Yes," her mother admitted. "The police still think he's crazy, but they still haven't caught him."

Kagome sighed. "I hate having to leave you so soon again."

"Why don't you go over to Genkai's? She's missed you, you know," Mrs. Higurashi suggested. Kagome brightened up immediately.

"That's a great idea! He will be defeated by the horror that is otherwise known as Genkai's steps!" Kagome said, smiling. She looked at her mom for a minute, seeing the worry lines that hadn't been there back before her father died and her stalker, who had been sending her threatening letters and hundreds of pictures ever since she was fourteen, and once again felt guilty about all the things she put her family through. She impulsively hugged her mother, who hugged her back tightly.

"I'm sorry, Mom," Kagome whispered.

"I know, honey. I just wish…" and she trailed off.

Kagome smiled sadly. "I know."

"Before you go back, the police want to talk to you again," Mrs. Higurashi said, pulling away and quickly wiping a tear.

"Goody. I'm glad the school decided to cooperate," Kagome added. When it started, the police department had made her stay at home, under police surveillance 24/7. She hadn't had anything else to do, and had completed almost her entire high school work. The school cooperated, and allowed the rumor to spread around that Higurashi Kagome was deathly ill and couldn't attend school, since people weren't allowed to know about her stalker. When she returned, a little before her fifteenth birthday, she was allowed to attend classes with her old class while continuing to finish her degree. Then she had fallen into the well, and when she returned she had given a fake story to the police, saying that he had kidnapped her. They believed her, and decided they had a leak in their department. Mrs. Higurashi then told them she was going to send her daughter off to various places, not even informing the police, so that her daughter would be safe. After all, the Feudal Era might be dangerous, but in this world a stalker that had taken as many photos as he had was vastly more dangerous, for if he could take photos, he could have just as easily killed her and everyone else in her family hundreds of times. Kagome maintained the fiction of being in school, however, even in front of her Feudal friends, so that they didn't know there was anything wrong. She had finished up her work in the Feudal Era and now completed school. She had been given many offers from universities, and Kagome had decided that once her Feudal adventure was over she would attend college, though, if the guy was still around, from a remote location and away from her family. She didn't want to get them involved.

So it was that Kagome headed over to Genkai's temple. As she walked up the steps she heard the melodious sounds of Genkai and Yusuke fighting. He was still there? She knew it would take awhile to get Yusuke up to Genkai's standards, but didn't she give him breaks?

"Hi, everyone!" Kagome said brightly as she walked into the courtyard.

"Kagome, your mother called and explained everything. I can't believe you didn't tell me about that, you idiot," Genkai admonished.

Kagome blushed. "It didn't really come up last time," she admitted.

Yusuke was panting, but he looked up with curiosity. "What should she have told you?" he asked.

"None of your business. Kagome, I want you to have another fight with Yusuke," she commanded.

"But Genkai, last time she didn't even do that much to block me," Yusuke said, "I'll hurt her."

"I brought dulled weapons this time, as well as my live ones," Kagome said. In Yusuke's memories, Kagome hadn't fought that hard because she had sharp weapons and didn't want to hurt him, which he had scoffed at repeatedly.

"You still can't beat me," Yusuke said confidently.

Kagome smiled. An hour later, Yusuke had been "killed" at least ten times, though after that he had lost count. He sat on the ground, panting and scratching his head ruefully.

"You're dangerous with that naginata," Yusuke said.

"And?" Kagome asked, smiling.

"And every other damn weapon you can get your hands on! What have you been doing the past six months? You weren't half as good then," Yusuke complained.

Genkai, who had enjoyed the fight, added, "You're better than you were when you were thirteen. What happened?"

Kagome sighed. "I've been training with a couple of people—all day, every day, except for the past few days. I think my teacher could rival you with cruelty to students."

"You're kidding!" Yusuke said, "Genkai's evil."

Kagome simply snorted. "He was a taiyoukai."

Yusuke looked confused. "A what?"

"The highest classification of demon you can be, though that term hasn't been used for a few centuries," Genkai said, looking suspiciously at Kagome. "How did that happen?"

"He's a friend of mine's half brother, and decided on his own that I was pathetic and needed help," Kagome said.

"Great," Yusuke muttered.

Yusuke was glad to have Kagome cooking for them again. Though Kagome sucked at cooking in the Feudal Era, she was an expert at basic modern dishes. He stuffed himself on Kagome's oden, sighing happily as he finished.

"I'm glad you're back," he said, smiling. It also meant a brief respite from his demon teacher, who, he was convinced, was much more evil then whoever Kagome's mystery teacher was.

"Me, too. Have you been here for the past six months?" Kagome asked.

"Hell no!" Yusuke said. "I got out about two months after you left, and came back about two months ago."

"He came back and begged to be trained. He's been invited to the Demon World Dark Tournament," Genkai said, frowning in displeasure. She didn't want anything to do with that thing, and she most definitely hadn't wanted Yusuke involved either.

"I didn't beg!" Yusuke protested. "And it's not my fault Demon World recognizes talent when they see it!"

Kagome rolled her eyes, smiling. "They must have mixed up my invitation for yours, then."

"Hey!" Yusuke said, "You can't even use any special powers!"

"I killed that demon you were having so much trouble killing, and just as I was waking up!" Kagome protested. "I can fight!"

Yusuke rubbed his arm where she had hit it, "I remember that. But you can't defend against some of these demons without spiritual power Kagome. It's dangerous." He remembered Toguro, alive after Yusuke thought that he had managed to kill him. He thought about Kagome fighting that thing and shivered.

Kagome, seeing his distress, patted his arm comfortingly. "Don't worry, Yusuke, I'll stay away from the big, bad, nasty demons. I probably won't be able to attend the tournament anyway; I have my own demons to deal with."

"Who?" Yusuke asked.

Kagome thought a moment. It was only fair to warn him, since the guy would probably follow her out here. She sighed. "I have a stalker. Since I was fourteen, he's been sending me letters and pictures."

Genkai snorted. "Don't make light of it, girl. From what your mother told me, every letter has simultaneously praised you and threatened your death. The guy is crazy, obsessed with you, and has taken so many photos that the police department is running out of room to keep them!"

Yusuke's mouth dropped open. "I guess that would be why you're always out 'sick.'" He commented finally, unable to think of anything else to say.

"How'd you know about that?" Kagome asked.

Yusuke smiled, self-satisfied. "I hear rumors. I'm a detective, I can put things together. I thought it probably wasn't you, though, since you looked perfectly healthy. Why can't you catch the guy, though? Couldn't you beat him up or something and give him to the police.

Kagome shivered. "It doesn't work like that," Kagome said. "I can't find him. He's taken pictures of me doing everything, at school, at home, eating at WacDonalds, but I can't find him! He could have killed me and my entire family with a gun hundreds of times by now if he wanted."

Yusuke looked at his friend across the table, worried. He couldn't help her that much. He had to train; he didn't have a choice, but the thought of a stalker after Kagome really creeped him out.

"It's okay, Yusuke, I can take care of myself. The place I go to, with my trainer, is safe. I visit home, and just hope that the stalker will make a mistake someday and I won't have to hide anymore," Kagome said, looking more cheerful.

Yusuke didn't have much faith in the police, but if it made her feel better there wasn't much he could do. If that weirdo was still after her when he got back from the Dark Tournament, finding him would be the first thing on his list. He hadn't known Kagome for that long, but he liked her, and she wasn't afraid of him. Remembering the fight he had just gone through though, he thought ruefully, maybe he should be afraid of her.

After seeing Kagome fight and knowing she would only be there for eight more days, Genkai decided to have the two train together. Kagome was disappointed a bit, having hoped for a break, but Yusuke was a good guy to be around. He had a good sense of humor, was almost always upbeat, and really had a good heart. The only explanation she could think of for his rather bad reputation in his part of the city was that he liked fighting and picked fights with the most powerful fighters in the area, the gangs, and as he beat them everyone started making up more and more stories about him. Ridiculous, really, Kagome thought.

By fighting Kagome, Yusuke quickly adjusted to having to stop long sharp objects from hurting him, and by the end of the eight days could fight against her with live weapons. It was dangerous, granted, but Yusuke thought it was a great thrill and enjoyed every moment of it, as did Kagome once she realized that Yusuke wouldn't be getting more than a few bumps and scratches. Yusuke was indeed disappointed when Kagome left, for she was a good sparring partner, and it meant Genkai's attention would now be directly solely on him again.

Kagome hugged Yusuke when she left, making him blush slightly, but he gave her a quick hug before pushing her off. "If you wanted me so much, you should have told me."

Kagome laughed. "I'll remember that next time."

"Take care," Yusuke said, turning serious.

"I will," Kagome said, smiling at him gratefully. She hadn't had a real friend in this time for so long, and even though she hadn't told him much yet, she would be able to. One day.

"All right, Kagome, either kiss the boy or leave," Genkai said, hands on hips. The two teens turned immediately red, and Kagome hurried off, waving her hand.

When Kagome got home she played with Souta a little, something they hadn't had much of a chance to do for a long time. However, when he saw that the mail was there, he jumped and ran. Kagome smiled; it used to be a race between the two of them, at least until the time when the letters started coming. Mail became a source of fear. Different names and addresses where used for all of the mail, which made it virtually impossible to trace since, while all of the addresses were valid, everyone who lived there had no idea about who was using their identities to send mail.

Souta actually didn't know much about it. He never thought about the fact that people were sending his sister mail, and while the kidnapping incident had been scary, those kinds of things happen. No one had ever told him that his sister was getting threatening letters, and when she had been staying home for a year, he had simply thought that the police were being cautious. He had a few bad memories about the experience, but he thought that the experience was something far behind him, especially because his sister now had Inuyasha. So it was, when he brought the mail back to Kagome, he didn't know what exactly he had been carrying.

Kagome froze when she saw another letter addressed to her from someone she didn't know. Her mother had been keeping her from seeing the letters, reading some of them, but mostly just giving them to the police. Now, however, her mother wasn't here and she could just take a look.

"Souta, I'm going to my room to look at my mail, I'll be right back down, okay?" Kagome said, trying to sound relaxed and like everything was all right.

"Sure! I just got a game magazine I want to take a look at!" Souta said, grinning broadly.

Kagome smiled at him slightly, and then walked up the stairs slowly, staring at the letter in her hand. By the time she got back to her room, memories of when she was kidnapped were filling her head; their haunting echoes somehow coinciding with the beating in her heart. She clutched the envelope, feeling its contents with startling ease. She collapsed on the bed, her fingers trembling slightly as she tore it open. She turned it upside down, and pictures started tumbling to her bed. The letter didn't fall out, but it was temporarily ignored as she started looking at the pictures on her lap.

She held up the first one. It showed her coming out of the well house. The next showed her being hugged by her family, and then one of her eating dinner with them, another on the bus to Genkai's, and then many, so many, of her with Genkai, with Yusuke, or with both. There was even some of her family while she wasn't there, and then she noticed one that was off to the side. She reached for it, and she almost felt her heart jump slightly as she realized that it was one of her riding home on the bus. She had been home for a couple hours, so he must have been pressed for time, Kagome realized with the part of her brain that thought logically. The picture fell to her lap, and her hands followed, though more slowly. Without thinking about it, her hands reached for the envelope, and she slowly pulled the letter from its envelope.

_My Dearest Kagome,_

_I've missed you so much! Why did you go to the past, and leave me all alone? I sent a few paltry pictures to your mother, but they were only of your family. They didn't have your style and grace to truly make them great works of art._

_Why haven't you been to see me? I let you go, and yet no response from you in almost two years now! Why do you ignore the love that has grown between us? Why do you keep returning to that dirty demon? I TOLD YOU NOT TO GO! I TOLD YOU! And yet you keep going back, not listening to me, disobeying me! Why won't you listen to me?! Why do you ignore me? I love you! If you don't listen to me, consequences will occur. Maybe that new boy you're seeing! I know about him! That brat, trying to steal what is mine from me! I will destroy him! I know it is not you who is at fault. You are innocent, sweet. You would never betray me. You are the most beautiful, gracious, sweet, kind woman I know. You love me, and wouldn't leave me for another._

_You test me to prove my love for you, but it grows wearisome. I send you all of these letters, these pictures, telling you how much I love you, how much I adore you, and yet you take no notice! Just keep returning to the past, leaving me behind! I've done so much for you, have devoted my life to you, and you act like I'm dirt! I won't stand for it anymore! I've been patient, I have given you years to return my affections, but I won't wait much longer! If I don't have you by then, consequences will be paid!_

_I don't want to hurt you, my dearest, my sweetest, beloved Kagome. Why do you make me threaten you? The thought of you crying sends me into the deepest pits of hell, but to have your presence by my side, I would spend the rest of eternity in hell. Come to me, forget your family, forget the past, and forget that dirty demon! Live with me, and let us exist together forever. I want us to be happy together! Don't let us fall to hell together, but let us rise to heaven!_

_Not much time left before my decision is made. I eagerly await your response; don't let me down this time._

_Your Devoted True Love_

The letter slipped from her fingers to join the pictures on her lap. He was truly mad, wasn't he? He praised her one moment, and threatened her the next! And he blamed it all on her! She hadn't even done anything! When he had kidnapped her, all she had done was ask why he had done it, trying to figure out what she could do to get away, to convince him that what he was doing was taking the wrong path, and for some reason he had seen that as a declaration of love and had let her go, promising to see her again. Just a week later, the first letter had come, and after that she had been kept in the house, and not allowed to see any of the other letters. Now she knew why.

Why hadn't they told her? She knew why they didn't tell Souta, he was too young and it wasn't his life in danger, but she was the one directly involved. Even the police hadn't told her that much, perhaps thinking she already knew what he wrote. He really could kill her and her family at any time, Kagome realized. They would be safer if she wasn't here. She stood up, scattering the pictures over her bedroom, and hurried around the room, gathering her things quickly. She didn't care if it was a day early, she was going back to the feudal era. She ran down to the kitchen, and threw some food in her pack, and had to calm herself to walk by Souta. She walked through, and when he finally looked up at her, smiling and a bit giddy, though that might have been a word he wouldn't appreciate, because of his magazine.

"I'm going to bring a few things to the feudal era, all right?" Kagome said.

"Say hello to Inuyasha for me, okay?" Souta asked.

Kagome's smile grew a bit more real. "Sure! Maybe he'll come visit you for awhile soon," Kagome said.

"Cool!" and his attention was drawn back immediately to the magazine in his lap. Kagome felt a bit sad at the idea that she was leaving her family right after she came back, and he didn't even know, but that was what she wanted. They would be safer without her, and that was what mattered.

As Kagome entered the well house she grabbed her weapons, which had been left safely locked in the well house away from Souta's all too eager fingers, and stood for a moment before the well. She only spared herself one look behind her, and then she jumped.

And that's all!

All right, people, I have a bone to pick. The last chapter, one that I had thought was a rather decent one, got the second to lowest number of reviews out of all the chapters so far! I kept waiting and waiting, thinking that if I just waited one more day, someone else would review, but it never happened. So, it is months later, I've had chapters six and seven sitting around for ages now, and still, the review count for this chapter is quite low compared to how many hits it has gotten. I do not want to be a review Nazi, but when only about 1-2 of my readers are reviewing, I tend to be more then a little put out.

So. I have chapter seven completed. It will be released if and when I feel that I've gotten an acceptable number of reviews. Meanwhile, I will continue to work on this and other stories that, while they might not have gotten more reviews, they have at least managed better averages then this one.

**To everyone who did review and will be reviewing this chapter, thank you. ** If I do not receive what I consider the adequate number of reviews within three weeks, I will go ahead and send the next chapter to you if you have either reviewed under your account or left me your email address. I don't feel I should make those who have reviewed suffer for those who don't. This will be in effect for the rest of this story, and probably the rest of this series.

**To those who do read, but don't review**, I only wish you consider the time it takes to write a chapter of the length I generally do for this story. Between the first draft, the time it takes my poor editor Adrasteia Wen to flounder through it and make it half-way decent, me to go back over it, and make sure everything looks all right, the chapter has generally spent about ten hours in production. Not to mention the hours I spend figuring out plot points, planning, plotting, worrying, and discussing with my friends what I'm going to do next (just ask Tsubasa. Over half of our time talking is spent worrying over our stories). It's not that I don't appreciate the fact that you read my story, I just don't understand why it is so impossible for you to drop at least a line or two saying that everything looks good/bad or that you liked/hated this or that part of the chapter, or any questions you have. I'm not even asking that everyone who reads this reviews it. I would just appreciate it if I got a reasonable number of people reviewing this story.

Well, I guess that about wraps it up. Sorry to end the chapter on such a bad (and long) note.


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